A Harvard Medical School Special Health Report

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Positive Psychology
Harnessing the power of happiness, mindfulness, and inner strength
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In this report:
7 happiness exercises
Leveraging your
virtues and strengths
Learning to
savor pleasure
The art of gratitude
Getting in the flow
Finding meaning
The brain on positive
emotions

SPECIAL BONUS SECTION

Mindfulness:
A path to well-being

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 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
SPECIAL HEALTH REPORT
Contents
Studying satisfaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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Medical Editor
Ronald D. Siegel, Psy.D. Tracking happiness levels scientifically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Assistant Professor of Psychology (part time) The roots of positive psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Harvard Medical School,
Cambridge Health Alliance The brain on positive emotions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Positive psychology’s critics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Executive Editor
Anne Underwood
Happiness: What is it?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Writer
Julie Corliss Happiness and your genes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Susan Ince Pleasure’s fleeting nature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Copy Editor Happiness and health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Robin Netherton
Creative Director How do you ‘get happy’?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Judi Crouse Routes to happiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Production Manager What won’t make you happy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Lori Wendin
Illustrator Finding your inner strengths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Scott Leighton Shedding light on character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Published by Harvard Medical School What are virtues and strengths?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Gregory D. Curfman, MD, Editor in Chief
Urmila R. Parlikar, Senior Content Editor Gratitude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
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In association with
Counting your blessings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Belvoir Media Group, LLC, 535 Connecticut Avenue, Nor- Savoring pleasure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
walk, CT 06854-1713. Robert Englander, Chairman and
CEO; Timothy H. Cole, Executive Vice President, Editorial Happiness and choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Director; Philip L. Penny, Chief Operating Officer; Greg
King, Executive Vice President, Marketing Director; Ron Goldberg, Flow: Getting engaged and absorbed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chief Financial Officer; Tom Canfield, Vice President, Circulation. What is flow?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Copyright © 2016 by Harvard University. Permission is Matching your skill level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
required to reproduce, in any manner, in whole, or in part,
the material contained herein. Submit reprint requests to: Flowing through the work flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
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Defining self-compassion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
list, visit us online at www.health.harvard.edu. Why develop self-compassion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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Positive psychology during difficult times. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
is to interpret medical information for the general reader.
This report is not intended as a substitute for personal medical Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
advice, which should be obtained directly from a physician.
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Dear Reader,

In the summer of 2015, the surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy, appeared
on National Public Radio’s show Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! and shared some thoughts
about how to improve Americans’ health and well-being. Most people think that you need to
be healthy in order to be happy, said Dr. Murthy, a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham
and Women’s Hospital. “But I actually think a lot of times it’s the other way around,” he said.
He went on to describe some of the things people can do to improve their happiness, like
spending time with friends, boosting social connections, and exercising.

These strategies are among those described in this report, which focuses on the field of
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mental health research and treatment known as positive psychology. Positive psychology
seeks to help people capitalize on their strengths, to heighten their awareness of pleasure and
well-being, and to develop the wisdom needed to live a more fulfilling life.

Early on, much of the focus in this nascent field was on the pursuit of happiness, which
was understood as having pleasant feelings more of the time. But in recent years, positive
psychology has evolved to emphasize cultivation of long-term satisfaction, contentment, and
well-being, as opposed to often-fleeting pleasurable experiences. In fact, studies show that
people who experience a wide range of emotions—including negative ones—tend to report
greater satisfaction with their lives than those with a more limited range of feelings. Contrary
to what you might expect, trying to resist painful emotions creates a certain degree of psy-
chological suffering. By opening to pain, people suffer less.

Some of the tenets of positive psychology echo advice heard from wise elders and religious
teachers across cultures and centuries. For example, the practice of mindfulness—paying
attention to your thoughts, emotions, and other experiences on a moment-to-moment basis,
without judgment—has roots in Buddhism and other wisdom traditions. Mindfulness,
which has enjoyed a surge of popularity in recent years, is perhaps the best-known practice
for enhancing well-being. But there are many others, including gratitude, self-compassion,
and cultivation of your personal virtues and strengths. You can explore all of these in the
following pages.

Sincerely,

Ronald D. Siegel, Psy.D.

Medical Editor

Harvard Health Publications | Harvard Medical School | 10 Shattuck Street, Second Floor | Boston, MA 02115
 Studying satisfaction
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P ositive psychology is an umbrella term that en-

compasses the study of positive emotions, full
engagement in activities, virtuous personal char-
acteristics, and paths to fulfillment and meaning in
life. It also investigates how people and institutions
can support the quest for increased satisfaction and
meaning.
The study of mental health used to focus primar-
ily on treating mental illness and paid scant attention
to the development of meaning, fulfillment, positive
emotion, and connection—all of which are crucial to

Thinkstock
the quality of daily life. Positive psychology doesn’t
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consider the traditional approach of treating mental

illness to be misguided. Rather, it supplements the The field of positive psychology has led to the development
study of mental disorders and their treatment, plac- of techniques and therapies that can help you find greater
satisfaction and meaning in life, harness your strengths,
ing attention on strengths as well as weaknesses, and
nurture positive emotions, and connect with others.
taking what has been learned about psychological
science and applying it to the goal of greater happi-
ness and meaning. and to track individuals over time to assess the impact
What if you don’t have a psychological disorder of life events or interventions. These measures focus
but you’d like to improve your emotional state, find on people’s emotions and how they assess their lives.
more meaning in your life, or fulfill your potential? Some measures, such as the Positive and Negative
The growth of the field of positive psychology has Affect Schedule, frequently used by researchers, ask
expanded the number of individuals who are benefit- people to rate their current experience of various posi-
ing from techniques and therapies aimed at helping tive and negative emotions. Others ask people to think
them develop a positive outlook that improves the about their lives and rate their satisfaction. Satisfac-
quality of their daily lives. This burgeoning field also tion measures may focus on a specific domain of life,
addresses questions of happiness, vitality, and mean- such as health or career, or they may use more general
ing in life as worthy of serious scientific research. questions that rate overall satisfaction, factoring in
various aspects of life.
To get a sense of your current level of satisfac-
Tracking happiness levels tion, try the Satisfaction with Life Scale (see “Mea-
scientifically suring your level of satisfaction,” page 3), a quick
Well-being, of course, is a very subjective and indi- measure that is used in many positive psychology
vidual experience. Doctors can’t quantify it the way studies. In-depth assessment questionnaires are
they can measure blood pressure or body temperature. available online at the Authentic Happiness website
In order to conduct valid studies, psychologists have ( www.authentichappiness.com ) run by psychologist
needed to seek ways to measure satisfaction that can Martin Seligman and other researchers at the Univer-
be used to compare one group of people with another, sity of Pennsylvania.

2 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 The roots of positive psychology monia (“eudaemonia” in English), is achieved through
The concepts underlying positive psychology are not knowing your true self and acting in accordance with
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new. Virtually all of the world’s religions and philos- your virtues. By contrast, Epicurus and the Hedonists
ophies offer paths to inner peace, meaning, and ful- held that maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain
fillment. Buddhism, one source of ancient wisdom, was the way to happiness, while the Stoics extolled
teaches that a person can find psychological freedom the value of remaining objective, unswayed by either
and inner peace through recognizing the intercon- pleasure or pain.
nectedness of all things, transcending the illusion of a Centuries later, the utilitarian philosophers of the
separate self, and coming to accept the inevitability of 18th and 19th centuries, including John Stuart Mill,
change. Other religions, including Judaism, Christian- believed that moral actions maximize happiness—
ity, and Islam, have for many centuries embraced the not for the individual, but for the greatest number
idea that happiness and rewards result from following of people. Other schools of thought have been more
God’s will as revealed in scripture. individualistic. The Romantics, for example, valued
Philosophers from the ancient Greeks onward individual emotional expression and high passion.
have promoted differing schools of thought on how to In its early days, the science of psychology also
find happiness and fulfillment and held varying views explored pathways to well-being. For example, dur-
on the positive aspects of human experience. Aris- ing a long career at Harvard, the psychologist William
totle believed that happiness, which he called eudai- James (1842–1910) was fascinated by whether and
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Measuring your level of satisfaction

This one-minute survey is used in many studies to gauge contentment and satisfaction.
Below are five statements that you may agree or disagree with. Using the 1–7 scale below, write down a score to indicate
your agreement with each item. Be open and honest in your responses.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Strongly Disagree Slightly Neither agree Slightly agree Agree Strongly agree
disagree disagree nor disagree

STATEMENT SCORE INTERPRETATION

In most ways my life is close to my ideal. 31–35 Extremely satisfied
The conditions of my life are excellent. 26 –30 Satisfied
21–25 Slightly satisfied
I am satisfied with my life.
20 Neutral
So far I have gotten the important things I want in life. 15–19 Slightly dissatisfied
If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing. 10–14 Dissatisfied
Add up your scores 5–9 Extremely dissatisfied

A short test such as this can give only a general idea of your level of satisfaction and happiness. Your score will depend on
your feelings about your life to date, your current circumstances, and the short-term effect of recent events.
If your score indicates you are satisfied or extremely satisfied, you find most areas of your life to be very rewarding.
If you score as slightly satisfied, neutral, or slightly dissatisfied, there are probably several areas of your life that you
would like to improve. If so, this report offers a number of strategies.
If you score as dissatisfied to extremely dissatisfied, you may be reacting to recent bad events. However, if you have felt
this way for a long time and are not feeling optimistic about the future, you may need to make significant changes in your
life, and you might benefit from seeking help from a mental health professional.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 3

 how various transcendent and mystical experiences knowledge to assist people in their quest for joy and
help people live better, fuller lives. fulfillment.
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In contrast to these earlier traditions, most of In this transition, the American psychologist
20th-century psychiatry and psychology shifted the Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) proved to be a key fig-
focus to psychological disorders, working within a ure. Maslow is credited with coining the term positive
medical model designed to move people from painful psychology in 1954. He also introduced the concept of
mental states to more neutral ones. Sigmund Freud, “self-actualization,” a yearning for growth and mean-
for example, sought to turn “hysterical misery into ing in life that some people pursue after their more
ordinary human unhappiness.” After World War II, basic needs—such as food and safety—have been met
clinical psychology, with its focus on treating mental (see Figure 1, below).
disorders, quickly became the largest psychological The field took another step forward in the 1990s
discipline, spurred on by the necessity of treating the when University of Pennsylvania psychologist Mar-
many soldiers who returned from combat with men- tin Seligman broke new ground with his concept of
tal health issues. Although this was clearly beneficial “learned optimism,” widely considered a precursor
to those in need, eventually some psychologists and to today’s study of positive emotions. Learned opti-
other mental health professionals became dissatis- mism was an outgrowth of Seligman’s earlier work on
fied with the field’s predominant focus on treating the concept of “learned helplessness,” the apathy and
mental illness, alleviating the effects of psychological depression that can ensue when people or animals are
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trauma, and interrupting maladaptive behavior pat- placed in distressing situations where they have little
terns. Instead, these new thinkers sought to under- control (like a baby whose cries are never answered).
stand positive emotions, psychological strengths, Seligman described optimism as a trait of most happy
and optimal human functioning, and to use that people and found that optimism could be nurtured by
teaching people to challenge their
patterns of negative thinking and
Figure 1: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs appreciate their strengths. This
idea that people can become hap-
The human pursuit of higher goals and
fulfillment (represented in the upper layers
pier by bolstering and using their
of the pyramid) can only be undertaken inherent strengths is central to
after basic needs are met (represented in morality, positive psychology.
the lower layers), according to Abraham creativity, More recently, Harvard psy-
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, spontaneity, chologist Daniel Gilbert began
developed in 1943. problem
solving, exploring how well people predict
lack of prejudice, what will make them happy. In a
Self-actualization acceptance of facts series of experiments, he and col-
leagues demonstrated again and
self-esteem, confidence,
achievement, respect of others, again that people are remarkably
Esteem respect by others poor at this. The problem lies in
the human ability to imagine the
friendship, family,
future or the past. How you feel
Love/Belonging sexual intimacy
in the moment colors how you
security of body, of employment, of resources, imagine you will feel in the future,
Safety of morality, of the family, of health, of property and alters your ability to predict
whether something will make
breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion you happy in the future, Gilbert
Physiological explained in his book Stumbling on

4 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 Happiness. The truth is, Gilbert said, bad things don’t
affect people as profoundly as they expect them to. Figure 2: How the brain feels pleasure
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That’s true of good things, too. People adapt remark- Septum

ably quickly to either. Prefrontal
In 2011, Seligman jumped back into the discus- cortex
sion about what makes us happy with his concept of VTA
“PERMA.” The letters stand for the components that
he said allow people to flourish: positive emotion,
engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplish-
ment. These, he said in his 2011 book Flourish, are the
building blocks of a fulfilled life.
The field of positive psychology has grown expo- Nucleus accumbens
nentially in recent years. Positive psychology confer- (pleasure center)
Amygdala
ences are held around the world, academic journals
showcase the research, and hundreds of colleges and
universities offer classes on the topic. Positive psychol-
The brain responds to a pleasure stimulus by activating a reward
ogy methods are now used widely by mental health system. When the brain receives a positive sensory stimulus (some-
professionals to help a variety of people with different thing that feels good), it sends a signal to the ventral tegmental
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problems. area (VTA) in the midbrain. The VTA releases dopamine into the
nucleus accumbens (the pleasure center), the septum and amygdala
(parts of the brain related to assessing and responding to threats),
The brain on positive emotions and the prefrontal cortex (the thinking part of the brain).

While many researchers have studied positive emo-

tions by observing human and animal behavior, oth-
ers are trying to discover what is happening inside the hunger, thirst, or pain. When researchers stimulate
brain at the structural and molecular levels. Research- the nucleus accumbens of people, they smile, laugh,
ers now agree that there is a biological aspect to hap- and report feeling pleasure, happiness, or euphoria.
piness and that the brain is command central for the Later, by mapping connected areas, the researchers
chemical and physiological changes that occur in the identified a reward circuit in the brain that involves
body with positive emotions. the prefrontal cortex (the thinking part of the brain)
Since the middle of the 20th century, neurosci- and several underlying areas, including the nucleus
entists have investigated the mechanisms of posi- accumbens, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and
tive emotion in the brain and body. Before that time, the amygdala.
positive emotions were regarded as too subjective for The chemical basis of these pleasurable sensations
rigorous scientific study. But a better understand- also came under investigation. Researchers found that
ing of the brain chemicals known as neurotransmit- the neurotransmitter dopamine activates the reward
ters and increased ability to use technology to create system and is associated with positive emotions, exu-
images of the living brain opened new opportunities berance, and desire. On the downside, the dopamine
for study. reward system may also be associated with addic-
In the 1950s, psychologists identified a “pleasure tions, in which people develop uncontrollable urges to
center” in an area of the brain known as the nucleus repeatedly engage in pleasurable but harmful behav-
accumbens (see Figure 2, above right). They found iors, such as taking drugs, gambling excessively, or
that laboratory animals would press a lever to deliver compulsively viewing pornography.
an electrical stimulus to their brain’s pleasure center Another group of chemicals, the internally pro-
repeatedly until they were exhausted—undeterred by duced opiate-like chemicals called endorphins, are

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 5

 also associated with pleasurable feelings, such as those monks with extensive experience in meditation and
created by eating chocolate or a runner’s high. Endor- mindfulness, suggesting that these practices may offer
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phins released in the brain also increase the release of an effective path to happiness (see “Can mindfulness
dopamine. change your brain?” on page 26).
When people feel happy, they often feel physical While results of these and other studies suggest
sensations—a rush of passion, a flutter of joy—that that the brain is even more complex than once imag-
correspond to brain signals to nerves in the heart, ined, it is becoming clear that our feelings of well-
circulatory system, skin, and muscles. These physical being or distress correspond to changes in our brain
sensations are accompanied by chemical changes in chemistry and structure.
the brain and are interpreted as pleasurable.
Why do humans have these pleasure centers in the
brain? Experts theorize that because human survival Positive psychology’s critics
depends on achieving basic goals such as finding food Positive psychology has its doubters who criticize both
and procreating, a surge of pleasurable sensations the state of the science and the idea of happiness as a
associated with eating or having sex would positively goal. Some criticisms and responses from supporters
reinforce these behaviors, leading people to repeat of positive psychology are as follows:
them and hence increase their chances of surviving
and reproducing. The critics’ claim: Positive psychology ignores
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Scientists have used modern brain-imaging meth- suffering and devalues sadness.
ods to help determine exactly which areas of the brain Response: Most mental health research has
correspond to sensations of pleasure. This approach has focused on treating disorders, whereas positive psy-
revealed distinct patterns in both the cortex and under- chology sheds light on previously ignored areas of
lying structures when people feel negative and positive positive emotion and meaning that are important to
emotions. In the 1990s, researchers used positron emis- people’s quality of life. Positive psychology embraces
sion tomography (PET) scans to produce three-dimen- the full range of emotions, including sadness, and
sional images of people’s working brains. They observed attempts to help people become more resilient in the
that positive and negative emotions activated different face of adversity.
parts of the brain, and that areas activated by happiness
were deactivated by sadness and vice versa. The critics’ claim: Proponents of positive psy-
More recent research suggests that positive emo- chology suggest practices and techniques based on too
tions can activate reward pathways in the ventral little evidence from scientific research.
striatum, an area that projects into the VTA. Lasting Response: Advocates of positive psychology
activation in the area seems to enhance feelings of say that they are committed to controlled, rigorous
well-being and lower levels of stress hormones. research, but at the same time are willing to suggest
Another technique, electroencephalography, that people try various interventions (meditation,
revealed striking, emotionally based asymmetries in visualization, and others) if they are not harmful and
the activity of the prefrontal cortex. In these studies, make intuitive sense. Even within conventional medi-
the brains of generally happy people with fewer nega- cine, many low-risk medical and psychological thera-
tive moods showed greater activity in the left prefron- pies are practiced based upon anecdotal evidence until
tal cortex, and this area became more active when more solid research can be conducted.
people were exposed to amusing video clips. The right
side, on the other hand, became more active when The critics’ claim: Positive psychology is religion
people experienced negative emotions, anxiety, or in disguise.
depression. For example, the left prefrontal cortex was Response: While some of positive psychology
found to be particularly active in a group of Tibetan echoes themes that have been part of religious tradi-

6 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 tions for centuries—especially those suggesting that there is some evidence that happy people are more
happiness is less likely to be found in the pursuit of able to look squarely at negative information and
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material things and pleasures and more likely to learn from it (see “Positive psychology during difficult
appear with engagement with other people and mean- times,” page 35).
ing outside oneself—much of the field is based on
scientific research. There is no need to embrace a par- The critics’ claim: Happy people are unmotivated
ticular religious doctrine to appreciate and use these or lazy.
real and practical insights and techniques. Response: On the contrary, people who report
being happy are more likely to perform better on the
The critics’ claim: Happy people are foolish or job and be conscientious workers. Passive, sedentary
naïve. activities are less likely to bring happiness than more
Response: The expression “sadder but wiser” only active and challenging pursuits (see “Flow: Getting
goes so far. Happy people are no less intelligent, and engaged and absorbed,” page 22).
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ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 7

 Happiness: What is it?
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“IfAsyou’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!”

you once did when you sang, clapped, stomped,
especially if a person has had particularly unfortunate
or fortunate formative experiences.
and shouted along with the kids’ song, you prob-
ably recognize when you’re feeling happy. Happiness
might be experienced differently at times—say, as a Pleasure’s fleeting nature
warm sense of contentment, or as ecstatic joy—but it Remember how great it felt the last time you got a new
is clearly a pleasant feeling. Positive psychologists use car or a new piece of furniture? Do you still feel the
the term happiness to refer to this subjective sense of same elation about it today? Probably not. Psycholo-
well-being (which also requires a relative lack of nega- gists have long noted the human tendency to psycho-
tive feelings such as anger, sadness, and fright), as well logically adapt to new circumstances. Something that
as the sense that your life is worthwhile. initially makes you feel happy soon comes to feel like
the norm. The sense of happiness fades, and an urge to
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acquire the next bigger or better thing takes hold again

Happiness and your genes as you recalibrate and start focusing on the next goal.
Research suggests that your general level of happiness This can make the pursuit of happiness feel like walk-
is determined, at least in part, by genetics. Results from ing on a treadmill, where you have to keep working to
studies of twins have led to the concept of an inborn stay in the same place—and, in fact, this cycle has been
“happiness set point.” Although your happiness fluc- called the “hedonic treadmill.” For example, you may
tuates with various circumstances, in between, most feel happy to buy a house. The euphoria begins to fade
people return to a familiar level of contentment.
However, genetics are only part of the story. When
geneticists calculate heritability (the proportion of the Figure 3: D
 id you inherit your level
variation in a trait among people that can be attrib- of happiness?
uted to variations in their genes rather than their envi- Genetic
ronments), height is about 90% heritable, body mass You control
index about 65%, happiness about 50%, and religious- 10% Circumstances
ness 30% to 45%.
Even a highly heritable physical trait, such as
height, can be nudged up or down by environmen-
tal factors such as good or poor nutrition. For hap- 40% 50%
piness, with a much lower heritability, there is lots of
room for variation based on your life circumstances.
Positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of the Uni-
versity of California, Riverside, and her colleagues
estimate that across the population, 50% of happiness
Our basic temperament is inherited. Despite this, we have some
is genetic, 10% depends on your circumstances (job, control over how happy we feel. Positive psychologist Sonja
home, partner, and so forth), and 40% is under your Lyubomirsky and her colleagues estimate that happiness is 50%
power to control (see Figure 3, at right). Of course, in inherited. Another 40% is under our own power to control. The
a given individual the proportions might be different, final 10% depends on circumstances.

8 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 as you see how much work it needs. Upgrading the to help slow the return to your set point after some-
kitchen feels good, but then the bathroom looks dated. thing good happens (see “Gratitude,” page 17, and
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The pleasure of accomplishing one task fades quickly “Savoring pleasure,” page 20).
as the desire for the next improvement arises.
Some classic studies have documented how
quickly people adapt to both negative and positive cir- Happiness and health
cumstances. Lottery winners, a year later, are no more Happiness might not just make you feel better emo-
happy than a control group of people who didn’t win. tionally—it may improve your physical health, too.
People who were paralyzed in accidents are not as There’s growing scientific evidence that it could make
unhappy as you might expect; they rate their pleasure your life longer and healthier.
in everyday activities as high as the lottery winners! But to produce good health, positive emotions may
After relationship breakups and other discourag- need to be long-term. In other words, thinking positive
ing events, people generally aren’t as upset as they thoughts for a month when you already have heart dis-
expected to be, and they ease won’t cure the disease.
recover sooner than they However, lowering your
would have predicted. stress level over a period of
Still, people adapt years with a positive out-
differently to negative look and relaxation tech-
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

and positive events. In niques could reduce your

long-term studies in Ger- risk of health problems.
many, getting married
initially boosted happi- Improved health
ness, but two years later Positive emotions have
people had returned to been linked to a lower risk
Thinkstock

their usual level of satis- of some of the nation’s

faction. Certain negative leading causes of death.
Happiness might do more than make you feel better emotionally.
changes (divorce, death It might also improve your physical health. Growing scientific For example, a review
of a spouse, or unem- evidence suggests that happiness could make your life both lon- published in Psychologi-
ployment) led to more ger and healthier. But the positive emotions need to be long-term. cal Bulletin found that
enduring declines in sat- psychological well-being
isfaction, and even years later people had not totally makes people less likely to have heart attacks, strokes,
recovered. In studies of more ordinary negative cir- and other cardiovascular events.
cumstances (a typical “bad” or “good” day rather than How might positive emotions and engaging in
a life-changing event), feeling lousy one day tended to meaningful activities help? Over all, they seem to over-
carry over into the next, but the positive feelings after ride negative feelings that often underlie unhealthy
a good day did not. habits, like smoking, excessive drinking, not exercis-
Sonja Lyubomirsky believes that the evidence to ing, and eating an unhealthy diet—all of which can
date (which has focused far more on negative than contribute to clogged arteries. People who are hap-
positive experiences) indicates people adapt more pier also seem to be more flexible and resilient, which
quickly and more completely to positive changes— makes it easier for them to cope with change and dis-
such as becoming accustomed to having more appointment in their daily lives. That, in turn, means
money after winning the lottery. This adaptation, they’re better able to take good care of themselves and
she believes, forms a significant barrier to achieving suffer fewer of the harmful effects of chronic stress.
long-lasting happiness. Based upon this observation, Similar trends have been shown in diabetes. A
experts have devised a number of self-help exercises review of 22 studies in the journal Psychosomatics

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 9

 Longer life
Did we evolve to be unhappy? Some recent evidence regarding the benefits of hap-
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P erhaps surprisingly, some traits that might make us piness for longevity comes from a report in Archives
unhappy today may have saved our lives in much of Internal Medicine that used data from the English
earlier times, according to evolutionary psychologists. Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA). ELSA research-
For example, constant suspicion that physical danger
ers are collecting data on the well-being, health behav-
lurks around the next corner would have helped an early
human survive attacks from wild animals. Such traits iors, and survival of more than 11,000 English men
were thus selected for in human evolution. Today, how- and women who were at least 50 years old when the
ever, constant suspicion is less likely to save your life and study began in 2002.
more likely to cause unnecessary stress and unhappiness. Researchers divided participants into four groups
Overreacting to possible threats is another example. based on their self-reported enjoyment of life. During
Recoiling from a bitter taste or fleeing from a rustle in the
a follow-up period of just over seven years, about 20%
bushes might have kept an ancestor from death by poison
or tiger attack. Negative emotions alert you to danger of those in the lowest enjoyment group had died, com-
so you can avoid immediate peril, and there’s little harm pared with about 6% of those in the highest enjoy-
done if you react to a false alarm, such as spitting out ment group. People who enjoyed life more also were
radicchio or running from a bunny. But what used to be less likely to have a serious illness, were more likely to
good for survival doesn’t translate well to the modern
world, and over the long term, repeated or constant
be married, and had higher levels of wealth and edu-
revving up of your fight-or-flight response can lead to cation than those less happy with their lot in life. But
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

anxiety, unhappiness, and health problems. even after accounting for those factors, as well as for
Another theory relates to sensitivity to rejection. Early depression and health behaviors, greater enjoyment in
humans lived in small communities in difficult condi- life in itself was associated with a 28% lower risk of
tions. Being excluded from the group could literally mean death, according to the study authors.
death. As a result, humans are naturally sensitive to being
The longest-term evidence on happiness and
socially excluded. Today, however, frequently feeling
slighted or jealous can have a negative impact on friend- longevity comes from the Nun Study, conducted by
ships, marriages, and other social relationships. researchers at the University of Kentucky and pub-
It helps to recognize why it takes some work to counter lished in The Journal of Personality and Social Psy-
these hard-wired attributes, but just because they’re chology. When young women entered the American
“natural” doesn’t mean you have to be ruled by them. School Sisters of Notre Dame order (around age 22, on
average), they wrote a one-page autobiography. Ana-
lyzing 180 of these essays years later, when the nuns
found that three measures of positive emotion—well- were between the ages of 75 and 95, researchers found
being, resilience, and positive affect (the scientific a very strong association between longevity and the
term for having feelings of hope, happiness, enjoy- expression of positive emotions (such as happiness,
ment, and good self-esteem)—help people with dia- interest, love, hope, gratefulness, and contentment).
betes to better care for themselves and live longer, Women who scored in the upper 25% for positive
healthier lives. For example, people with diabetes emotional words lived 9.4 years longer than those in
who had positive emotional health traits were more the lowest 25%, and women who expressed the most
likely to stick to healthy diet and exercise plans. They positive emotions lived 10.7 years longer than those
also had lower average blood sugar levels and lower expressing the fewest—findings that held up after con-
death rates. trolling for linguistic ability.

10 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 How do you ‘get happy’?
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M aybe you think you’d be happiest if you looked

great in your bathing suit, and could sit on a pris-
tine beach with someone you love and a tall iced drink
“ We’re so engaged in doing things
to achieve purposes of outer value
in your hand. that we forget the inner value, the
Fortunately, you don’t have to wait until you have rapture that is associated with being
a perfect body and that idyllic beach. For greater alive, is what it is all about.”
happiness now, try things that are easier to do on a —Joseph Campbell, groundbreaking author and
typical day: take a walk outdoors, or volunteer for a speaker on comparative mythology and religion
good cause. Even something as simple as putting your
desk in order while the office is quiet can elevate your By conducting focus groups and testing hundreds
mood. There are various routes to happiness, and a of volunteers, they found that each of these pathways
balance among them may bring the greatest satisfac- individually contributes to life satisfaction, and it is
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

tion. Not all routes will appeal to everyone equally or possible to gain a sense of the pathways that come
at all times. most naturally to you (see “Quiz: How do you seek
happiness?” on page 12).
A related area of newer research suggests that
Routes to happiness people are happiest when they’re focusing their minds
In an early phase of positive psychology research, the on the present rather than thinking about other top-
pioneering psychologist Martin Seligman, along with ics, places, or times. Harvard psychologists David Gil-
Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan, bert and Matthew Killingsworth set up an experiment
examined several routes to happiness and explored designed to record how frequently people’s minds
an individual’s inclination to pursue each one. They wander, what they wander to, and how it affects their
chose three pathways to start: moods. They designed a smartphone application that
• Feeling good: seeking pleasurable emotions and contacted 2,250 adult volunteers at random intervals
sensations, from the hedonistic model of happi- to ask how they were feeling, what they were doing,
ness put forth by the ancient Greek philosopher and whether they were thinking about what they were
Epicurus. This includes seeking to repeat and savor doing or thinking about something else.
pleasant experiences (see “The roots of positive The researchers found that people spend about half
psychology,” page 3). of their time thinking about things other than what is
• Engaging fully: pursuing goals and activities in going on around them. This “mind wandering” often
which you are totally immersed, from the influential takes the form of thinking about events that happened
research on flow experiences by psychologist Mih- in the past, may happen in the future, or will never hap-
aly Csikszentmihalyi of Claremont Graduate Uni- pen at all. And it doesn’t make us happy. Rather, peo-
versity in California (see “Flow: Getting engaged ple in the study were happiest when their minds were
and absorbed,” page 22). focused on the activity of the moment. This research,
• Doing good: experiencing meaning by serving published in the journal Science, reinforces the advice
someone or something outside yourself, as advised of various religions, philosophies, and therapies that
in most religious traditions (see “Finding your life’s have suggested since ancient times that happiness and
meaning,” page 32). fulfillment may be found more easily by living in the

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 11

 moment, “being here now,” and experiencing the pres- What won’t make you happy
ent to its fullest rather than thinking constantly about While most people say they want to be happy, peo-
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other things (see “Mindfulness: A path to well-being,” ple tend to be poor judges of what will actually make
page 25). For more information about this research them happy. Here are some widely held myths about
(including how to join the still-ongoing study), see what will bring happiness:
www.trackyourhappiness.org. Money and material things. Can money buy hap-

Quiz: How do you seek happiness?

For each of the following statements, rate whether you find it:

1 2 3 4 5
Not at all A little Somewhat Mostly Very much
like me like me like me like me like me

STATEMENT SCORE STATEMENT SCORE

1. Regardless of what I am doing, time 10. I am rarely distracted by what is going
passes very quickly. on around me.

2. My life serves a higher purpose. 11. I have a responsibility to make the

WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

world a better place.

3. Life is too short to postpone the
12. My life has a lasting meaning.
pleasures it can provide.
13. In choosing what to do, I always
4. I seek out situations that challenge my
take into account whether it will
skills and abilities.
be pleasurable.
5. In choosing what to do, I always take 14. What I do matters to society.
into account whether it will benefit
other people. 15. I agree with this statement:
“Life is short— eat dessert first.”
6. Whether at work or play, I am usually
“in a zone” and not conscious of myself. 16. I love to do things that excite my senses.

7. I am always very absorbed in what I do. 17. I have spent a lot of time thinking
about what life means and how I fit
8. I go out of my way to feel euphoric. into the big picture.
9. In choosing what to do, I always take into 18. For me, the good life is the
account whether I can lose myself in it. pleasurable life.

Add up your scores for

Items 3, 8, 13, 15, 16, and 18 (pleasurable life)
Items 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 (engaged life)
Items 2, 5, 11, 12, 14, and 17 (meaningful life)

Which score is highest? That is your most prominent orientation among the different ways of seeking happiness.
Your principal orientation toward happiness may be seeking pleasurable emotions or sensations, pursuing activities
that engage you fully, or seeking meaning in something outside of yourself. On the other hand, you may have no
strong orientation toward one route. If you scored high on all factors, you may already be on the road to a full and
satisfying life. If you scored low on all factors, you may need to take action to avoid being dissatisfied with your life.

Adapted with permission from the University of Pennsylvania’s “Authentic Happiness” website, www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu.

12 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 piness? Economist Richard Easterlin first addressed
this question in the early 1970s, when he introduced The world’s happiest countries
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the happiness-income paradox. His research showed

that within a given country, happiness tracks closely I n 2012, the United Nations issued the first World Hap-
piness Report, a global survey of well-being and hap-
piness that ranks countries from the most happy to the
with income—but only up to the point at which basic
least. Published by the U.N.’s Sustainable Development
needs are met. Between countries, he found that Solutions Network—an international team of economists,
richer countries weren’t happier than poorer ones, neuroscientists, psychologists, and statisticians—the
unless the poor people were very poor and struggling. report is intended as a resource for policies to help people
More recent research has shown that richer countries worldwide live better lives and to guide progress for sus-
tainable development in developing countries.
are marginally happier than poorer ones, but probably
The primary data come from the Gallup World Poll, which
because other factors that support happiness, such as
surveys about 1,000 residents per year from each of 158
social trust, often increase with income. countries around the globe. The rankings are based on the
Youth. People in their late teens tend to say they main life evaluation question, which asks respondents to
are fairly happy, but contrary to what you might think, rate their life on a scale of 0 (the worst possible life) to
people in their 80s rank their psychological well-being 10 (the best possible life). But the report also analyzes
how each country’s overall score may be explained by the
even higher. However, the trajectory toward greater following six variables:
satisfaction isn’t a straight one but a U-shaped curve, • gross domestic product per capita
according to a study in the Proceedings of the National • healthy years of life expectancy
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Academy of Sciences that relied on a poll of more than • social support (defined as “having someone to count
340,000 people. The poll included general questions on in times of trouble”)
about age, sex, and income, as well as six questions • trust (measured by “perceived absence of corruption in
to gauge “hedonic well-being” in which respondents government and business”)
were asked whether they experienced the following • perceived freedom to make life decisions
feelings during much of the previous day: enjoyment, • generosity (measured by “recent donations, adjusted
happiness, stress, worry, anger, or sadness. The results for differences in income”).
suggest that stress and anger decline as people grow In the 2015 report, America doesn’t even make the top
older. Happiness and enjoyment drop gradually until 10. It’s ranked 15th—a slight improvement over the 2014
age 50, after which they rise steadily for the next 25 ranking of 17th.
years. Many researchers believe that in our later years, The top 10 happiest nations are Switzerland, Iceland,
we finally stop looking for happiness in achievements Denmark, Norway, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands,
subject to the hedonic treadmill (see “Pleasure’s fleet- Sweden, New Zealand, and Australia. All have average
scores above 7.28. The bottom 10 countries are Chad,
ing nature,” page 8) and experience greater well-being Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, Rwanda,
as a result. Benin, Syria, Burundi, and Togo, where the average scores
Children. Children can be a tremendous source of are all less than 3.67.
joy and fulfillment, but their day-to-day care is quite
demanding and can increase stress, financial pres-
sures, and marital strife. When ranking their happi- marital satisfaction declines after the first child is born
ness during daily activities, mothers report being more and only recovers after the last child leaves home. Per-
happy eating, exercising, shopping, napping, or watch- sonal relationships of all types are important, however.
ing TV than when spending time with their children In studies, being married, having more friends, and
(although there are ways to increase that enjoyment; having sexual intercourse more often are all moder-
see “Savoring pleasure,” page 20). In several studies, ately or strongly associated with happiness.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 13

 Finding your inner strengths
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P ositive psychologists want their patients to under-

stand their unique strengths of character and build
on them, just as traditional psychologists want their
large group of scholars and practitioners. They began
by combing the philosophical and religious literature
in search of qualities that were prized across many cul-
patients to understand the qualities that make peo- tures and in different eras, found in both young and
ple unhappy and overcome them. For example, the old people, able to be cultivated, and believed to lead
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disor- to fulfillment in life. The idea was to identify qualities
ders (DSM), long considered the bible of psychiatry, that are not primarily valued as a means to another
describes and categorizes mental disorders and prob- end, or considered to be inborn talents such as intel-
lematic behavior patterns. As a counterpart, positive ligence or perfect pitch. In 2004, Seligman and Peter-
psychologists have published a professional handbook son published their handbook Character Strengths and
jokingly called the “un-DSM” to describe and cat- Virtues (the “un-DSM”) to catalog these strengths, and
egorize positive traits. Both books are works in prog- they are continually updating it.
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

ress that change along with professional opinion and

unfolding scientific research.
What are virtues and strengths?
According to Seligman and Peterson, there are six
Shedding light on character “virtues,” or core characteristics that are universally
The positive psychology movement asserts that it is valued (see Table 1, page 15). These are wisdom,
legitimate for psychologists to examine strengths and courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and tran-
virtues as part of what could be called “moral char- scendence. Each of the six virtues has a set of char-
acter.” Positive psychologists argue that happiness and acter strengths associated with it. Strengths are less
fulfillment are as real as distress and disease, and that abstract than virtues, and are often the characteristics
individual strengths and virtues are as important for people use to talk about the qualities that differenti-
psychologists to examine as are individual problems. ate one person from another. For example, one person
Manifesting your strengths, they say, is one avenue to might gain the virtue of wisdom by using the strength
greater happiness. known as curiosity. Another person might gain wis-
Previously, psychologists studying personal- dom through the strength of open-mindedness and a
ity traits considered moral character best left to phi- tendency to see all points of view.
losophers, deeming it too value-laden and subjective Strengths are built-in capacities for certain
for psychological research. Freudian psychoanalysts thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Everyone possesses
were willing to look at strengths and often saw these all of these character strengths to a greater or lesser
as defenses against unconscious negative motivations extent. You can be particularly gifted in one area and
such as aggression and sexuality. The problem, says weak in another, but if you are like most people, you
Martin Seligman, is that there is no evidence that this are often somewhere in between. Your particular pat-
is true. tern of strengths is part of what makes you unique.
Under the auspices of the VIA Institute on Char- You probably enjoy using your strengths and do so
acter, Christopher Peterson (the institute’s scientific naturally. When you play from your strengths, you are
director) and Martin Seligman undertook a mam- likely to feel more energetic and perform better than
moth categorization project with the assistance of a when you are trying to use a capacity that comes less

14 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 Table 1: 6 virtues and their underlying strengths
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VIRTUE STRENGTHS

WISDOM • Creativity: Using the imagination to develop original ideas and objects. These may be in the artistic realm
Intellectual strengths that but can also involve inventive solutions to practical problems.
help you gain and use • Curiosity: Being fascinated by and eager to learn about a wide variety of topics. Exploring and having
information new experiences.
• Open-mindedness: Fairly examining issues from all sides without being influenced by preconceptions.
Being willing to change your mind in light of new evidence.
• Love of learning: Adding systematically to your knowledge and thereby mastering new skills and subjects.
• Perspective: Being able to provide wise counsel to others. Possessing ways of looking at the world that
make sense to yourself and others.

COURAGE • Integrity: Speaking the truth, acting sincerely, and presenting yourself in an authentic way
Strengths of will that (without pretense). Taking responsibility for your feelings and actions.
help you accomplish • Bravery: Speaking and acting for what you believe despite opposition. Not shrinking from challenges
goals in the face of fear (physical or not), difficulties, threats, or pain.
and internal or external
obstacles • Persistence: Finishing what you start even in the face of resistance. Displaying perseverance and
industriousness.
• Vitality: Entering life fully, wholeheartedly, with enthusiasm and energy.
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HUMANITY • Social or emotional intelligence: Being aware of your motives and feelings and those of others. Knowing
Interpersonal strengths how to fit into various social situations. Recognizing what makes other people tick.
that help you befriend • Love: Having the capacity to give and receive love. Valuing and maintaining close relationships with people.
others and tend to your
relationships • Kindness: Nurturing and caring for others. Showing generosity, compassion, altruism, and simple niceness.

JUSTICE • Teamwork: Working well in a group. Displaying loyalty and responsibility to support the group and do
Social or civic strengths your share.
that help bolster a healthy • Fairness: Treating everyone fairly and justly without letting personal feelings bias your decisions.
community
• Leadership: Encouraging a group to get things done. Organizing and following through. Fostering good
relations among members.

TEMPERANCE • Mercy: Forgiving those who have done wrong or acted against your desires. Giving people a second
Protective traits that help chance and not being vengeful. Mercy tempers hatred and anger.
you avoid excess and stay • Humility and modesty: Letting your accomplishments speak for themselves. Not seeking the spotlight or
on track in the face of trying to seem more special than you are; truthfully acknowledging who you are and what you’ve done.
temptations Humility tempers arrogance.
• Self-control: Regulating what you feel and do. Being disciplined; not letting your desires or emotions get
out of hand. Self-control tempers impulsiveness.
• Prudence: Taking care in what you say and do. Not taking undue risks. Prudence tempers actions and
decisions leading to regret.

TRANSCENDENCE •A
 ppreciation of beauty: Noticing and valuing beauty, excellence, and skill expressed in nature,
Strengths of meaning performance, various professions, and everyday experience.
that connect you with the • Spirituality: Holding beliefs about the meaning of life and its higher purpose. Knowing where you fit
larger world and provide within the larger scheme of life, and taking comfort and direction from that knowledge.
meaning
• Gratitude: Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen. Taking time to express thanks.
• Hope: Believing that the future can be good and working to bring it about. Being optimistic.
• Humor: Liking to laugh or see the light side of life. Being playful. Bringing smiles to other people.

Source: Adapted with permission from the VIA Institute on Character.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 15

 standing of their strengths. If something comes eas-
EXERCISE #1 ily, you may take it for granted and not identify it as
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Use a signature strength in a a strength. In fact, you may assume the same capacity
new way comes naturally to everyone and get frustrated with
What are your strengths? Are you highly social? Open- people who don’t display it. That’s one backhanded
minded? Doggedly persistent? Pick one of your strengths way to recognize a strength in yourself, but there are
and use it in a new way every day for a week. Think of
more straightforward means. You can ask someone
ways to use this strength in a positive way with a family
member, co-worker, or friend. For example: you respect who knows you well, notice what people
compliment you on, and think about what comes
• Bravery. Plunge into a new activity that makes you
nervous, like public speaking. most easily to you.
• Curiosity. Read an article or watch a documentary on To help you assess your strengths, positive psy-
something you know nothing about. chologists at the VIA Institute on Character have
• Self-control. Make your week free of insincere developed an online questionnaire called the Inven-
comments. tory of Signature Strengths Survey, available at
• Appreciation of beauty. Set a beautiful table for an www.viacharacter.org. The questionnaire is a 30-min-
ordinary meal. ute, 240-question survey that provides a ranking of
• Open-mindedness. Read an editorial or listen to a your top five strengths and shows how you compare
talk radio show that you disagree with and consider
with others who have taken the test.
the legitimate points it may raise.
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There’s no magic in the number five—you may

• Creativity. Find an alternative use for an ordinary
household object. have more than five that rate very close together—and
• Love. Write a note to someone you love and tuck it particular strengths may rise and fall in the rankings
where the person will find it—in a briefcase, in a as your circumstances and need to use them change.
lunchbox, or under a pillow. But the five will give you a good snapshot to work
with.
Knowing your strengths is helpful only if you
naturally. For example, one person trying to influence use them. A study published in American Psycholo-
a local school board to ban soft drink sales might have gist asked people to identify their key strengths and
the strength to speak up forcefully and clearly at a gen- then use one in a new way every day for a week. Com-
eral meeting (despite the almost-universal fear of pub- pared with a control exercise (spending time each day
lic speaking). Another person strong in team-building writing about early memories), simply identifying
might feel uncomfortable speaking out in a meeting strengths had no impact on happiness. Actually using
but could successfully build consensus among parents, signature strengths, however, significantly increased
nutritionists, and others to weigh the issue and come happiness and reduced depression for six months.
to a decision. Likewise, when you set out to do some- (For examples of how to do this, see “Exercise #1: Use
thing in alignment with the values you hold dear, you a signature strength in a new way,” above left.)
are likely to work harder and have more energy and Certain strengths have been found to be the most
persistence for the task at hand. closely linked to happiness. They are gratitude (see
Because deploying a strength is usually the easiest page 17), hope, vitality, curiosity, and love. These
as well as the most effective way to accomplish a goal, strengths are so important that they’re worth cultivat-
you can think of using your strengths as the smallest ing and applying in your daily life, whether or not they
thing that you can do to make the biggest difference. come naturally to you.
To reap the benefits of playing from your strengths, Keep in mind as you read the remainder of this
you first need to know what they are. Yet according to report that you have unique strengths that will help
a study presented to the British Psychological Society, you in all aspects of cultivating a greater sense of well-
only about one-third of people have a useful under- being.

16 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 Gratitude
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G ratitude is a thankful appreciation for what you

receive, whether tangible or intangible. With grati-
tude, you acknowledge the goodness in your life. And
difficult times,” page 35), and build strong relation-
ships (see “Positive relationships,” page 37).
As a signature strength, gratitude is felt and
because, in the process, you recognize that the source expressed in multiple ways. It can be applied to the past
of that goodness lies at least partially outside yourself, (retrieving positive memories and being thankful for
gratitude also helps you connect to something larger elements of your childhood or past blessings), the pres-
than your individual experience—whether to other ent (not taking things for granted as they come), and
people, nature, or a higher power. the future (being hopeful and optimistic that there will
You can be grateful for things large and small: be good things arriving). No matter what your inher-
When traffic is light on your way to work, do you feel ent or current level of gratitude, it’s a quality that can
grateful? When your child puts his own sneakers in be successfully cultivated further.
the closet, are you thankful? Gratitude is one of the
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

most important signature strengths (see “What are

virtues and strengths?” on page 14). Counting your blessings
In positive psychology research, gratitude is Gratitude journals, in which you regularly write down
strongly and consistently associated with greater hap- things for which you are grateful, help you go through
piness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emo- your days with greater appreciation, taking fewer
tions, relish positive experiences, enjoy better health, blessings for granted. You can use a formal gratitude
deal with adversity (see “Positive psychology during journal like the one on page 18 or simply set aside a

Studies on gratitude

R obert Emmons of the University of California,

Davis, and Mike McCullough of the Univer-
sity of Miami examined the impact of keeping a
lists of things for which we’re grate-
ful, keeping a gratitude journal, or
expressing gratitude to others. Cul-
gratitude journal. All participants in their study tivating gratitude in these ways also
were asked to write a few sentences each week, may also help us deal with common
focusing on five things. One group wrote about forms of psychological distress such
things they were grateful for that had occurred as anxiety or depression.
during the week. A second group wrote about Gratitude is a way to step off the
daily hassles or things that had displeased hedonic treadmill, appreciating what
them, and the third wrote about events that had you have instead of always reach-
affected them (with no emphasis on them being ing for something new in the hopes
positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who it will make you happier. Gratitude
wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and helps you refocus on what you have
Thinkstock

felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they instead of what you lack. As an old
also exercised more and had fewer visits to phy- saying goes, “If a fellow isn’t thank-
sicians than those who focused on hassles. Studies show that
ful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thank-
Numerous other studies have pointed to ful for what he’ll get.” The implications of this keeping a gratitude
the beneficial effects for adults, as well as way of thinking are far-reaching, to the benefit journal can help you
children and adolescents, of regularly making of both you and those around you. feel better about life.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 17

 Your gratitude journal
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Throughout the day, briefly note things or events that inspire you to feel grateful.

FAMILY UPLIFTING MATERIAL

WORK OR FRIENDS NATURE EXPERIENCES COMFORTS

Monday

Tuesday
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Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

18 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 experience the feelings. If you find that daily journal-
EXERCISE #2 ing doesn’t suit you, find another approach that does:
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Expressing your thanks speak or silently contemplate your blessings instead of

Who likes an ungrateful child? If you’re a parent, chances writing; make it part of an evening prayer; or do it on
are you have insisted that your children write thank-you a different schedule, such as once a week, if that feels
notes: you know that expressing thanks for gifts received
is a valuable way to nurture the qualities of gratitude
more natural.
and appreciation. As an adult, you may have the thank- Those positive effects can be enhanced further by
you note (or email or call) down pat, but there’s a benefit expressing the gratitude that you feel toward some-
to going deeper. You can make yourself happier and nur- one who has been helpful to you (see “Exercise #2:
ture your relationship with another person by writing a
Expressing your thanks,” at left). Martin Seligman
gratitude letter expressing your enjoyment and apprecia-
tion of that person’s impact on your life. and colleagues tested the impact of various positive
psychology interventions on 411 people, each com-
Write a gratitude letter. Send it, or better yet, deliver and
read it in person if possible. Make a habit of sending at pared with a control assignment of writing about
least one gratitude letter a month. On occasion, write early memories. When their week’s assignment was
one to yourself. to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude
to someone who had never been properly thanked
for his or her kindness, participants exhibited a huge
few minutes every day and write down in any con- increase in happiness scores (and a decrease in scores
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

venient place five large or small things you’re grate- on a depression scale) immediately afterward. The
ful for. An item might be a conversation, lovely view, immediate impact was greater than any other inter-
event at work, treasured possession, beloved friend, vention, with benefits lasting for a month. Subsequent
God, whatever occurs to you. As you write, be specific studies have shown that sending or delivering the let-
and relive the sensations you felt as you remember ter is not essential to the gain in happiness, so people
what each thing means to you. Of course, some items who are deceased or whom you cannot reach are fair
may repeat, but keep the list fresh and take the time to game for your thanks.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 19

 Savoring pleasure
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S avoring is placing your attention on pleasure as it

occurs, consciously enjoying the experience as it
unfolds. This is in stark contrast to grasping for plea-
Celebrate. Don’t keep the good moments of your
life (or your loved ones’ lives) to yourself. Let yourself
be happy when you complete a project or when some-
sure, constantly reaching for the next, better thing to thing goes well. Savor your accomplishments.
come along—a route to chronic discontentment. (Just Slow down. It turns out that time affluence (hav-
think of all the celebrities who are unhappy, despite ing the time to enjoy your life and participate in the
their material wealth and fame.) activities you want) predicts happiness better than
Most people are primed to experience pleasure monetary affluence. As much as you can, eliminate
in special moments, such as a wedding day or a vaca- some of the less enjoyable ways you spend your time
tion. Everyday pleasures, on the other hand, can slip (do you really need to check your email again?) so
by without much notice unless they disappear or seem you can enjoy the pleasurable experiences in your day
threatened. There’s nothing like a medical scare to spur without rushing.
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

a temporary appreciation of good health, or a series of Underdose. As with kids gorging on Halloween
rainy days to have you appreciating sunshine. You can candy, nothing spoils the pleasure of something like
enjoy the experience even more by savoring it. an overdose of it. The brain is wired to attend to things
Fred Bryant of Loyola University and the late that are novel. Too much of a good thing, or repeating
Joseph Veroff of the University of Michigan were the same activity without enough space in between
the first to scientifically study savoring. Their work, (like a continuous loop of your favorite movie), can
described in the 2006 textbook Savoring: A New Model strip pleasures of their power to please.
of Positive Experience, is used by positive psychologists Simplify. Too many options can actually diminish
who continue to investigate how you can become hap- your pleasure (see “Happiness and choice,” page 21).
pier by learning to savor the positive aspects of your Share the moment. Inviting someone else to
present life. share an activity can enhance the pleasure. Together
Whether or not savoring pleasure is already one of you can relish the sunset, symphony, or ski run.
your paths to happiness, you can enhance your capac- Set new goals and plan new activities. Accord-
ity to recognize and enjoy the pleasures in your day in ing to positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky’s
a number of ways: research, the boost in happiness you get from a new
Single-task. Multitasking is the enemy of savor- undertaking lasts longer than that brought on by a
ing. Try as you might, you can’t fully pay attention to change in circumstances.
multiple things. If you’re scanning the newspaper and Reminisce and anticipate. Savoring pleasure
listening to the radio during breakfast, you’re not get- may seem like a strictly “be here now” activity, but you
ting the pleasure you could from that meal—or the can also savor things in the past and even the future.
newspaper or radio program. If you’re walking the Reminiscing about vacations and victories, or cherish-
dog on a beautiful path but mentally staring at your ing your precious moments with loved ones, can be
day’s to-do list, you’re missing the moment. Of course, very satisfying. When study participants were asked
some combined activities, like popcorn at the movies to spend 10 minutes twice a day reminiscing about a
or music while you snuggle, make for a richer sensory pleasurable event, the positive reminiscence increased
experience—but don’t pile on so much stimulation the amount of time participants felt happy during the
that you dilute your ability to enjoy it. week (compared with members of a control group

20 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 who spent the same amount of time thinking about
current issues in their lives). They also became better EXERCISE #3
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at savoring pleasures as they happened. Just say “no” to too many choices
Don’t try to overanalyze past pleasures (which To keep the burden of choice from robbing you of
some research shows actually diminishes their power) pleasure, go on a choice diet. For choices of no great
consequence, limit the amount of time or number of
or compare them with your current circumstances— options you’ll consider. Cut off your opportunities for
just enjoy the trip down memory lane by yourself or second-guessing: stop looking at car or employment ads
with another. Keeping souvenirs, looking at snapshots, after you’ve made a commitment; go ahead and wrap
rereading letters, or playing music from the past can or mail that gift; wear and launder your new pants so
they can’t be returned. When critical medical or finan-
support this activity.
cial choices need to be made, that’s the time to put your
Though it may seem counterintuitive, you can also maximizer tendencies to work. But for the many small
enhance pleasures that have not yet happened. As you choices you make each day, try to narrow your choices
look over your to-do list, briefly savor the moments quickly and make your decisions confidently.
that will give you pleasure (stop for flowers, play with
the puppy). Similarly, as you plan vacations or meals,
imagine and savor the pleasures to come. Talk about make beforehand (see “Exercise #3: Just say ‘no’ to too
your plans. many choices,” above).
Your temperament also influences how you handle
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

choice and how it influences your happiness. “I never

Happiness and choice settle for second best.” Does that sound like you? Psy-
A comedian used to joke that his mother’s menu con- chologists would call you a maximizer: in your quest
sisted of two choices: “Take it or leave it.” It may sound for the best deal or product, you need to evaluate all the
counterintuitive, but having fewer choices can lead choices before making a decision. Other people have
to happiness. How? Happiness does depend in part standards for what they want in a given circumstance.
upon having choices, but only up to a point. The more As soon as something meets those standards (which
options you have, the more opportunities you have to can be high or low), they make the decision. These
regret the choice you’ve made. Do you wish you’d cho- people are what psychologists refer to as satisficers.
sen a different cellphone? Would you have been better Judged by measurable criteria, maximizers may
off with a different financial investment or Medicare make the best choices. In research at Columbia Uni-
drug plan option? The more choices there are, the versity and Swarthmore College, students were rated
smaller the percentage that seem to be “right.” on their tendency toward maximizing or satisficing
On meditation or spiritual retreats, choices are and were followed for a year as they searched for jobs.
often intentionally limited. Eating and savoring what- By the criterion of starting salary, maximizers found
ever is offered, or not having to choose your outfit or the best jobs, making 20% more. However, going
plan your day’s agenda, can be very freeing and allow through the process they experienced many more
your attention to stay focused. negative emotions, and after being hired they were
Simply making choices can be exhausting. In a less happy with their jobs than their classmates who
University of Minnesota study conducted at a mall, looked for the good-enough option. Who made the
published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psy- best decision: those who ended up with the higher sal-
chology, having more shopping choices interfered with ary or those with greater happiness?
people’s ability to pay attention and complete simple Modern technology has not brought progress in
arithmetic problems. If you want to focus your atten- this area. The Internet has opened vast opportunities
tion on an upcoming activity or need the emotional for choice overload. Shopping, searching for health
equilibrium to handle challenging personal situations, information, or trying to find love online can be an
you’re better off limiting the number of choices you exhausting process.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 21

 Flow: Getting engaged and absorbed
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H ave you ever been so immersed in what you were

doing that all distractions and background chatter
just fell away? Nothing existed except the brush and
flow. No matter what your natural tendency, recogniz-
ing how flow occurs (or doesn’t) in your life and creat-
ing opportunities for more flow experiences can be a
your painting, your skis and the slope, your car and the potent route to increased happiness.
road. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced “chick-
SENT-me-high”), a renowned professor of psychology
at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif., What is flow?
calls that state of intense absorption “flow.” To investigate the flow experience, Csikszentmihalyi
For decades, he explored people’s satisfaction in used a research method called “experience sampling.”
their everyday activities, finding that people report the He tracked people’s actions and feelings in their natu-
greatest satisfaction when they are totally immersed in ral setting (outside of a laboratory) and in real time
and concentrating on what they are doing. In studies rather than what they recalled later in interviews or
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

by Csikszentmihalyi and others, flow experiences led diaries. With this method, participants are contacted
to positive emotions in the short term, and over the at random points during the day and asked to briefly
long term, people who more frequently experienced record what they are doing, who they are with, and
flow were generally happier. Researchers have also how they feel. This way, the results are not tainted by
found that people vary in how much they value having memory bias based on whether the experience was
flow experiences, and in how easy they find it to enter pleasant or unpleasant.
According to the research, Csikszentmihalyi and
others found that flow experiences have several com-
Figure 4: High skill + high challenge = flow mon characteristics.
You lose awareness of time. You aren’t watching
the clock, and hours can pass like minutes. As film-
maker George Lucas puts it, talent is “a combination
Anxiety of something you love a great deal and something you
can lose yourself in—something that you can start at
.)
tc
Challenges

,e

9 o’clock, look up from your work and it’s 10 o’clock at

ity
tiv

night.”
a
re

You aren’t thinking about yourself. You aren’t

c
y,
la

focused on your comfort, and you aren’t wondering

(p
ow

how you look or how your actions will be perceived by

Fl

others. Your awareness of yourself is only in relation

Boredom to the activity itself, such as your fingers on a piano
keyboard, or the way you position a knife to cut veg-
Skills
etables, or the balance of your body parts as you ski
or surf.
Flow can happen during any activity when the level of You aren’t interrupted by extraneous thoughts.
challenge matches the level of skill. High challenge and low skill You aren’t thinking about such mundane matters as
produce anxiety. Low challenge and high skill produce boredom. your shopping list or what to wear tomorrow.

22 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 You have clear goals at each moment but Set the challenge too high, though, by undertaking
aren’t focused on the goal line. Although you may something that is way beyond your skill, and you’re
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be working toward an ultimate goal, such as earning a out of the flow again. Flow is more likely to happen
graduate degree, making a wedding cake, or winning a when you’re playing a well-matched opponent, prac-
chess tournament, that goal is not your primary moti- ticing a piano piece that’s just a bit harder than the last
vation. Rather, you find the activity itself to be reward- one, or driving in unfamiliar terrain in a car you feel
ing—mastering or explaining a line of thinking in confident controlling. In one of Csikszentmihalyi’s
your academic work, creating tiers of beautiful icing, recent studies on flow, he found that people enjoyed
or visualizing your way out of a sticky chess situation. a game of chess more if they played against someone
You are active and in control. Flow activities who was slightly more skillful than they were, and that
aren’t passive, and you have some control over what close games were more satisfying than blow-outs—
you are doing. even for the person who lost the match.
You work effortlessly. Flow activities require Enhancing your ability to experience flow in mul-
effort (usually more effort than what is involved in tiple domains can lead to greater happiness. You can’t
typical daily experience). Although you may be work- force flow, but you can invite it to occur more often,
ing harder than usual, at flow moments everything is even in areas of life where it might seem unlikely.
“clicking” and feels almost effortless.
You would like to repeat the experience. Flow is
Flowing through the work flow
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intrinsically rewarding, something you would like to

replicate. A study of people who hiked the full length If asked whether you enjoy your time at work or your
of the Appalachian Trail reported that 60% experi- time at leisure more, you’d probably answer your time
enced flow, usually on a daily basis, and more than 80% at leisure. But interestingly enough, in a landmark
expressed a desire to hike the trail again. In rating the study Csikszentmihalyi carried out in 1989 at the Uni-
things they enjoyed, the hikers said they enjoyed the versity of Chicago, flow-producing situations occurred
experience and activity itself, as well as using their skills. more than three times as often when people were
In contrast, external factors, such as competition with working as in their leisure time. The researchers didn’t
others and the prestige of completing the trail, were just count extremely intense flow experiences, but also
rated dead last in what made the experience enjoyable. counted any time that participants scored above their
personal average in both the challenge faced and skills
being used at the time of sampling. Flow experiences
Matching your skill level at work occurred at all levels—among managers, cleri-
The good news about flow and happiness is that you cal staff, and blue-collar workers.
can increase the amount of flow experience in your With this in mind, try to identify and acknowl-
life and reap the benefits, although it takes a certain edge the pleasure you derive from work. Look for
amount of effort and comes more naturally to some moments of engagement and satisfaction on the job.
people than others. Think and talk about your job in terms of challenge
Flow experiences, researchers have found, occur and engagement rather than drudgery and obligation.
when there is a balance between the challenge of an Encourage your children and loved ones to experience
activity and the skill you have in performing it (see the joy that can occur in work or learning.
Figure 4, page 22). For an adult, playing a child’s card Another way to become more engaged and hap-
game that requires no real skill is not likely to be a pier at work is to increase the challenge and skill
flow experience, but playing the next level on a video involved in tasks that ordinarily don’t result in flow,
game that you have partially mastered may be. When such as paperwork, filing, or assembly-line work.
your skill is high but the challenge is low, boredom is When doing something you consider boring, can
the likely result. you raise the bar for your performance by setting

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 23

 small goals, adding some mental games, or otherwise
enhancing a task that doesn’t require your full atten- EXERCISE #4
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tion? Inventing your own challenges can also give you The skill factor
a sense of control in a work environment that may To identify flow activities, spend several days alternat-
otherwise provide little autonomy. ing leisure activities that involve skill and those that
One disappointment revealed by research was how don’t. Try Scrabble or chess one day, TV or an easy word
puzzle the next; discussion of politics or literature ver-
little of people’s leisure time is spent in flow. In the sus relaxed conversation; or reading a biography versus
study, driving was the most uniformly positive flow browsing People magazine. Keep notes on how you
experience, while watching TV was far more likely to feel after the activity and the next day. If you find that
be non-flow time. Watching TV may be relaxing (and the more challenging activities are more absorbing and
leave you happier and more satisfied, keep that in mind
sometimes you may truly need some downtime), but
the next time you have a choice of how to spend your
it isn’t particularly satisfying. If you suspect you spend leisure time. Go with the flow!
too much time watching TV, look for leisure activi-
ties that involve using your skills (carpentry, sports,
artwork, music) and see how you feel afterward. Try can still create your own opportunity for flow. Stop
a mix of physical activities, social interactions, and and find ways to experience the moment. What do you
hobbies that require skill or provide a richer sensory hear? Are the birds singing? What do you feel? Your
experience (see “Exercise #4: The skill factor,” at right). breath? Or the breeze on your skin? Or focus on how
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

Of course, flow isn’t guaranteed when you pick up your weight shifts as you stand. By focusing on the
your paintbrush, hockey stick, or flute. You can best sensations of the moment, rather than thoughts about
fan the flames of flow with these strategies: what’s happening, you’re more likely to be engaged
• Aim to surprise yourself by paying close attention and experience flow. When you chat with friends or
in order to notice something novel in an everyday family members, make these conversations more
experience. engaging by asking questions that lead to thoughtful
• Choose an activity that can provide you with new answers. Don’t assume you already know their biogra-
feelings, experiences, and insights, and allow your phy, opinions, and approach to life. Actively listen to
feelings and awareness to flow without attempting what they are saying and try to learn something new.
to interfere. Lastly, don’t delay. Procrastination is the enemy
• Pay attention to your bodily sensations and of flow. In college-based studies, the more students
posture. procrastinate, the less likely they are to experience
• Overcome the urge to stop at every mistake. You flow when studying and learning. Students were most
are likely to be at your best when you focus on likely to procrastinate when they felt that their skills
what you want to accomplish or experience and were out of sync with the challenges they perceived in
don’t allow mistakes to be distracting. the task at hand, and if they were very self-conscious
• Accept that physical symptoms of nervousness are about their abilities and how their efforts would be
normal and will naturally ease off once you get judged. If you find yourself procrastinating, take a
going. look at the task ahead. Can you reframe it as a want-
• Try to work or play with others. to rather than a have-to activity? Can you balance the
• Maintain your sense of humor. skill/challenge ratio, perhaps by breaking it down into
When an activity itself—say, dusting or waiting in smaller chunks that you can plunge into without being
line at the bank—isn’t likely to be flow-inducing, you overwhelmed?

24 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

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SPECIAL SECTION

Mindfulness: A path
to well-being
M
indfulness is the practice of purposely focusing
your attention on the present moment—and ac-
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cepting it without judgment. While savoring in-

volves attending to and appreciating pleasurable sensations
(see “Savoring pleasure,” page 20), mindfulness involves
opening fully to both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.
The cultivation of mindfulness has roots in Buddhism, but

Thinkstock
most religions include some type of prayer or meditation
Meditation is one way to practice mindful-
technique that helps shift your thoughts away from your
ness. But you can also practice informally, by
usual preoccupations toward an appreciation of the mo- simply being present in the moment.
ment and a larger perspective on life.
It can be especially hard to be this morning, or whether the for- physical and psychological symp-
mindful when you’re multitask- sythia is in bloom along your route toms, as well as positive changes in
ing—how can you take stock of to work? health attitudes and behaviors.
how you feel in the present moment Mindfulness is now being What’s the connection between
if you are also folding the laundry, examined scientifically and has mindfulness and well-being?
keeping one eye on the kids, and been found to be a key element in Increasing your capacity for mind-
trying to watch your favorite TV happiness. Professor emeritus Jon fulness supports many attitudes
show? Or perhaps you plan your Kabat-Zinn, founder and former that contribute to a satisfied life.
day while listening to the radio and director of the Center for Mindful- Being mindful makes it easier to
commuting to work. In the rush to ness in Medicine at the University savor the pleasures in life as they
accomplish necessary tasks, you of Massachusetts Medical Cen- occur, helps you become fully
may find yourself losing your con- ter, helped to bring the practice of engaged in activities, and cre-
nection with the present moment— mindfulness meditation into main- ates a greater capacity to deal with
missing out on what you’re doing stream health care by demonstrat- adverse events. By focusing on the
and how you’re feeling. Did you ing that practicing mindfulness here and now, many people who
notice whether you felt well-rested can bring improvements in both practice mindfulness find that they

www.health.har vard.edu Positive Psychology 25

 SPECIAL SECTION | Mindfulness: A path to well-being
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are less likely to get caught up in meditation to be combined with meditation and a variety of related
worries about the future or regrets psychotherapy, especially cognitive techniques, including yoga and tai
over the past, are less preoccupied behavioral therapy (see “Positive chi, all involve mindfulness. Some
with concerns about success and psychology during difficult times,” types of meditation primarily
self-esteem, and are better able to page 35). This development makes involve concentration—repeating a
form deep connections with others. good sense, since both meditation phrase or focusing on the sensation
If greater well-being isn’t and cognitive behavioral therapy of breathing, allowing the parade
enough of an incentive, scientists share the common goal of helping of thoughts that inevitably arise to
are finding that mindfulness tech- people gain perspective on irratio- come and go. Concentration medi-
niques can help alleviate anxiety, nal, maladaptive, and self-defeating tation techniques, as well as activi-
pain, and depression. And a 2015 thoughts. ties such as tai chi or yoga, can
review in the journal PLOS One induce the relaxation response—a
found evidence that mindfulness- How to learn mindfulness calming of our emergency fight-
based therapies helped alleviate Mindfulness is generally cultivated or-flight reaction—which is very
stress and other negative emotions by training the mind to focus its valuable in reducing the harmful
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

in people with cancer, heart dis- attention on the present moment effects of overreacting to stresses.
ease, and chronic pain. in a systematic way, while accept- Mindfulness meditation builds
There are also many connec- ing whatever arises. Mindfulness upon concentration practices. In
tions between mindfulness and
contentment or overall satisfac-
tion. Mindfulness practices can Can mindfulness change your brain?
support savoring, flow, gratitude,
engagement, and other paths to
happiness. It can also change the A rapidly growing number of studies demonstrate that mindfulness meditation
leads to measurable changes in your brain’s activity and physical structure.
For example, in one set of studies, University of Wisconsin researcher Richard
brain in ways that make you feel Davidson used brain imaging to identify a link between the practice of mindful-
better, with less stress and a bet- ness and positive emotion in the brain. He first observed that the right prefrontal
ter mood (see “Can mindfulness cortex was active in people who were anxious, depressed, or hypervigilant (scan-
change your brain?” at right). ning their environment for danger), while the left prefrontal cortex was more
active in people who had fewer negative moods. After gathering data on the
Psychotherapists have turned
brains of hundreds of people, he found that the person with the most dramatic
to mindfulness as an important ele- left-side activity was a Tibetan monk with extensive experience practicing mindful-
ment in the treatment of a number ness meditation. Further studies showed that not only did other monks share this
of problems, including depression, characteristic, but a shift from right-sided to left-sided activation also occurred in
substance abuse, eating disorders, a group of high-tech office workers after they had been trained to do mindfulness
meditation. The trained workers also reported improved mood and more engage-
couples’ conflicts, anxiety disor- ment in their activities. They even had stronger immune system responses, com-
ders, and obsessive-compulsive dis- pared with workers who had not learned to practice mindfulness meditation.
order. Some experts believe that it In a separate study at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, researchers
works, in part, by helping people to followed 26 people who were stressed but otherwise healthy. Participants rated
accept their experiences—includ- their stress levels and underwent brain scans before and after a two-month-long
ing painful emotions—rather than intervention of mindfulness-based stress reduction. They reported far lower stress
levels after the intervention, which correlated with reductions in grey-matter
react to them with aversion and density within the amygdala, a brain structure involved in the processing and
avoidance. It’s become increas- expression of fear, anger, and related emotions.
ingly common for mindfulness

26 Positive Psychology www.health.har vard.edu

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Mindfulness techniques
There is more than one way to practice Body sensations: steady and relaxed
mindfulness, but the goal of any mind- Notice subtle body naming of emo-
fulness technique is to achieve a state sensations such as an tions: “joy,” “anger,”
of alert, focused relaxation by delib- itch or tingling without “frustration.”
erately paying attention to thoughts judgment and let them
pass. Notice each part Urge surfing: When
and sensations without judgment.

Thinkstock
of your body in succession you feel a craving or
This allows the mind to refocus on the
from head to toe. an urge (to eat excess
present moment. Many approaches to
food, use an addictive
mindfulness are forms of meditation. Sights and sounds: Notice sights, substance, or practice an unwanted
Basic mindfulness meditation: sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. behavior), acknowledge the urge and
Sit quietly and focus on your natural Name them “sight,” “sound,” “smell,” understand that it will pass. Notice
breathing or on a word or mantra that “taste,” or “touch” without judgment how your body feels as the crav-
you repeat silently. Allow thoughts to and let them go. ing enters. Replace the wish for the
come and go without judgment and re- Emotions: Allow emotions to be pres- craving to go away with the certain
turn to your focus on breath or mantra. ent without judging them. Practice a knowledge that it will subside.
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

mindfulness meditation, once but over time it provides a key to to try,” page 28.) However, you
you establish concentration, you greater happiness and self-aware- may benefit from the support of
observe the flow of inner thoughts, ness as you become comfortable an instructor or group to answer
emotions, and bodily sensations with a wider and wider range of questions and help you stay moti-
without judging them as good or your experiences. vated. Look for someone using
bad. You also notice external sen- Above all, mindfulness prac- meditation in a way compatible
sations such as sounds, sights, and tice involves accepting whatever with your beliefs and goals.
touch that make up your moment- arises in your awareness at each If you have a medical condi-
to-moment experience. The chal- moment. It involves being kind tion, you may prefer a medically
lenge is to avoid latching on to a and forgiving toward yourself. If oriented program that incorpo-
particular idea, emotion, or sen- your mind wanders into planning, rates meditation. Ask your physi-
sation, or getting caught in think- daydreaming, or criticism, notice cian or hospital about local groups,
ing about the past or the future. where it has gone and gently redi- or check one of the medical web-
Instead you watch what comes and rect it to sensations in the present. sites listed in the “Resources”
goes in your mind, while trying If you miss your intended medi- section (see page 43). Insurance
to discover which mental habits tation session, you simply start companies increasingly cover the
produce feelings of well-being or again. By practicing accepting your cost of meditation instruction.
suffering. For example, you might experience during meditation, it In addition to formal medita-
notice that whenever you try to becomes easier to accept whatever tion, you can also cultivate mind-
push an unpleasant thought out comes your way during the rest of fulness informally by focusing
of awareness, or suppress a nega- your day. your attention on your moment-
tive feeling, it tends to return. Or You can learn to meditate on to-moment sensations during
you might see that holding on to your own, following instructions everyday activities. This is done by
wishes for pleasure actually creates from books, DVDs, online, or apps single-tasking—doing one thing at
a lot of stress. At times, this pro- such as Headspace or Buddhify. a time and giving it your full atten-
cess may not seem relaxing at all, (Also see “Mindfulness exercises tion. As you floss your teeth, pet

www.health.har vard.edu Positive Psychology 27

 SPECIAL SECTION | Mindfulness: A path to well-being
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a more serious commitment, Jon

Mindful Harvard Kabat-Zinn recommends 45 min-
utes of meditation at least six days
In 2014, Cambridge Health Alliance, a group of hospitals in and around Cam-
a week. But you can get started
bridge, Mass., that are affiliated with Harvard Medical School, created a Center
for Mindfulness and Compassion in an effort to integrate mindfulness-based by practicing the techniques des-
practices into primary care. By training health care providers to introduce their cribed here for shorter periods and
patients to the benefits of mindfulness practice, the center hopes to expand its still derive a benefit.
use to people who might not otherwise try it.
One potential benefit of providing mindfulness instruction in primary care is that Practicing awareness in
it can enhance “self-regulation,” which may improve how well people follow daily life
their doctors’ orders—including instructions to exercise, eat well, and take their
medications as directed, says the center’s director, Dr. Zev Schuman-Olivier. Pa- A less formal approach to mind-
tients can join mindfulness-training groups within their community health care fulness can also help you to stay in
facilities, including sessions taught in languages other than English. the present and fully participate in
While such efforts constitute the center’s core project, a number of related your life. You can choose any task
projects are also in the works, such as offering gratitude training for faculty or moment to practice informal
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

members and bringing mindfulness training into local schools and businesses. mindfulness, whether you are eat-
ing, showering, walking, touching
a partner, or playing with a child
the dog, or eat an apple, slow down of air flowing into your nostrils or grandchild. Attending to these
the process and be fully present as and out of your mouth, or your points will help:
it unfolds and involves all of your belly rising and falling as you 1. Start by bringing your attention
senses. inhale and exhale. to the sensations in your body.
3. 
Once you’ve narrowed your 2. Breathe in through your nose,
Mindfulness exercises concentration in this way, begin allowing the air to fill your lungs.
to try to widen your focus. Become Let your abdomen expand fully.
If mindfulness meditation appeals aware of sounds, sensations, and Then breathe out slowly through
to you, here are two mindfulness ideas. your mouth. This pattern may
exercises you can try on your own. 4. 
Embrace and consider each slow down your heart rate and
thought or sensation without lower your blood pressure, help-
A meditation exercise judging it good or bad. If your ing you relax. Notice the sen-
This exercise teaches basic mind- mind starts to race, return your sations of each inhalation and
fulness meditation. (Free guided focus to your breathing. Then exhalation.
recordings of this and other mind- expand your awareness again. 3. Proceed with the task at hand
fulness meditations narrated The benefits of mindfulness slowly and with full deliberation.
by Dr. Ronald Siegel, the Har- meditation tend to be related to 4. Engage your senses fully. Notice
vard faculty editor of this Special the duration and frequency of each sight, touch, and sound so
Health Report, are available at your practice—the more you do, that you savor every sensation.
www.mindfulness-solution.com.) the greater the effect it usually has. 5. When you notice that your mind
1. Sit on a straight-backed chair or Most people find that it takes at has wandered from the task at
cross-legged on the floor. least 20 minutes for the mind to hand, gently bring your atten-
2. Focus on an aspect of your begin to settle, so this is a reason- tion back to the sensations of the
breathing, such as the sensations able way to start. If you’re ready for moment.

28 Positive Psychology www.health.har vard.edu

 Self-compassion
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T hink about how you treat yourself when you make

a mistake, fail to reach a goal, or find yourself drift-
ing into a general pattern of inaction or lack of direc-
fulness: A path to well-being,” page 25). When you
look in the mirror and don’t like what you see,
accept the bad with the good with a compassionate
tion. Do you blame yourself or feel worthless? Or do attitude.
you console yourself, take time to nurture yourself, Many people have trouble with the concept of self-
and gradually build the motivation to try again? If you compassion. They fear it may lead to self-indulgence.
tend to beat yourself up when things go wrong, you, They worry that if they are too easy on themselves
like most people, can use a little more self-compassion they will fail to be motivated, or become lazy and less
in your life. interested in achieving their goals. They think of it as
“letting yourself off the hook” or wallowing in self-
pity. But this line of thinking has been shown to be
Defining self-compassion incorrect. Instead, people who are self-compassionate
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

Psychologists who are interested in topics related to are motivated to take on new challenges and learn
positive psychology, mindfulness, and the science of new skills because these activities make them happy
happiness and satisfaction are just beginning to study and because they are not afraid to fail.
self-compassion. Self-compassion means “being warm For example, dieting is an effort at which people
and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, repeatedly fail and must motivate themselves to try
fail, or feel inadequate, rather than flagellating our- again. A study published in the Journal of Social and
selves with self-criticism,” says Kristin Neff, associate Clinical Psychology showed how self-compassion can
professor of human development at the University of help people stick to their diets. Dieters who break
Texas, Austin, who developed the first scale to mea-
sure self-compassion.
How does it work? According to Neff, just as Self-esteem vs. self-compassion
watching another person’s suffering can cause you to It’s easy to confuse the concepts of self-esteem and self-
compassion. But while self-esteem entails judging and evaluating
feel moved by that person’s pain and experience an urge yourself compared with others, self-compassion concerns being
to help, so too does compassion toward one’s self bring warm and understanding toward yourself even at times of failure.
many benefits for both physical and mental health. She
SELF-ESTEEM SELF-COMPASSION
outlines three components to self-compassion:
Self-kindness. This is the ability to be warm and Based on self-evaluation Based on acceptance of oneself

understanding toward yourself when you suffer, to Based on comparison Based on caring for oneself, not
soothe and nurture yourself when confronting pain with others on comparisons with others
rather than getting angry. Based on feeling Based on embracing our
Common humanity. This is the awareness that special, different, or common humanity, not on
above average feeling superior to others
you are not alone in your imperfection. And because
everyone else makes mistakes, too, it is easier to for- Associated with an egotistic Emphasizes interconnection
lack of tolerance for alternate and openness rather than
give yourself your own transgressions. viewpoints defensiveness
Mindfulness. This is the nonjudgmental obser-
Fluctuates depending on Exists consistently whether
vation of your own thoughts, feelings, and actions, whether you feel up or down you feel up or down
without trying to suppress or deny them (see “Mind-

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 29

 their diets by eating too much often tend to blame with higher self-compassion. Self-compassionate peo-
themselves. They may find themselves thinking, “I’m ple recognize when they are suffering and are kind to
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such a pig. I can’t believe I ate that,” and then eat even themselves at these times, thereby lowering their own
more food, figuring that it’s too late to stick to the anxiety levels and related depression.
plan. But women in this study who learned to feel self- According to Neff, another benefit is greater wis-
compassion were less likely to overeat in reaction to dom and emotional intelligence, suggesting that self-
having gone off their diets. They were more likely to compassion is a wise way to deal with stress and other
be forgiving, perhaps thinking instead, “Nobody’s per- difficulties in life. Several aspects of well-being have
fect. Everyone indulges from time to time. I’ll get back been documented to be associated with self-compas-
on track now.” In a similar way, self-compassion can sion, including feelings of social connection and life
be useful in quitting smoking. satisfaction. Some research suggests that self-compas-
People sometimes confuse self-esteem with self- sionate people experience more happiness, optimism,
compassion. The two are quite different (see “Self- curiosity, and positive attitudes compared with people
esteem vs. self-compassion,” page 29). Self-esteem who are less self-compassionate.
requires you to compare yourself to others—to feel As for motivation, self-compassionate people have
that you’re “better” than other people in some way. been found to aim just as high as others, but with the
By contrast, self-compassion requires no comparison recognition that they may not always reach their goals.
to others. And more importantly, self-compassion is Self-compassionate people display less self-handicap-
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

available whether you are feeling up or down. In fact, ping behavior, such as procrastination, than those who
it is often stronger when things are not going your lack self-compassion. And they are motivated to learn
way. Self-esteem, on the other hand, tends to plummet and grow, but are not as concerned with performance
when things go badly. goals or the desire to enhance self-esteem. “Thus self-
compassionate people are motivated to achieve, but
for intrinsic reasons, not because they want to garner
Why develop self-compassion? social approval,” Neff says.
Forgiving and nurturing yourself seem to have ben- Behaviors that foster better health may also be
efits in their own right, but they do even more than linked to self-compassion, including the motivation to
that. They set the stage for better health, relationships, control weight and quit smoking.
and general well-being, says Neff. Lower levels of Even interpersonal relationships may benefit from
anxiety and depression have been observed in people self-compassion. In one study, the partners of self-
compassionate people described them as being more
emotionally connected, accepting, and supportive of
Compassion training at Stanford autonomy. They were also described as less detached,
Compassion for other people is important, too, and inves- controlling, and verbally or physically aggressive than
tigators have repeatedly found that developing compas- those who were less self-compassionate.
sion for others is a reliable path to well-being.
One surprise came when researchers investigated
Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research whether self-compassionate people were more com-
and Education is dedicated to furthering the understand-
ing of the neural, mental, and social bases for compassion. passionate toward others. As it turns out, they were
Housed within the university’s department of neurosur- not. In fact, the research suggested that people who
gery, the center conducts research on the brain-based ori- are self-critical are often more likely to be compas-
gins of compassion, how compassion affects behavior, and sionate toward others and to defer their own needs to
methods for cultivating compassion and promoting altru-
the needs of others or acquiesce to others’ demands.
ism. Researchers also provide “compassion cultivation
training,” an eight-week program on improving resilience People who are self-compassionate, on the other hand,
and feeling more connected to others. tend to find a compromise with others without fully
subverting their own needs.

30 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 Learn to have self-compassion to yourself describing the situation without blaming
While some people come by self-compassion natu- anyone. Nurture your feelings.
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rally, others have to learn it. Luckily, it is a learnable Give yourself encouragement. Think of what
skill. Several methods have been proposed, and train- you would say to a good friend if the same thing had
ing programs are being developed. happened to him or her. Direct these compassion-
Harvard psychologist Christopher Germer, in ate responses toward yourself when the pain feels
his book The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion (see stronger.
“Resources,” page 43), suggests that you can bring Practice mindfulness. Self-compassion adds
self-compassion into your life via five means: physi- another dimension to the acceptance of ourselves
cal, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual. He while we’re in pain. Neff and Germer developed an
and other experts in the field have proposed a wide eight-week program, Mindful Self-Compassion,
variety of ways to help foster self-compassion. Here which they tested in a randomized trial compar-
are a few: ing program participants to people in a wait-list
Comfort your body. Eat something healthy. Lie control group. As hoped, those who completed the
down and rest your body. Massage your own neck, program developed greater compassion both for
feet, or hands. Take a walk. Anything you can do to themselves and for others and also reported less
improve how you feel physically gives you a dose of depression, stress, and anxiety. The more people
self-compassion. practiced the skills they learned in the program, the
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

Write a letter to yourself. Describe a situation greater their improvements. To learn more about this
that caused you to feel pain (a breakup with a lover, a training, see www.mindfulselfcompassion.org and
job loss, a poorly received presentation). Write a letter www.self-compassion.org.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 31

 Finding your life’s meaning
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W hat gives your life meaning? Only you know. For

some people, it is their religious beliefs. For oth- EXERCISE #5
ers, it’s the future of their children, or a positive con- A look back at your life
tribution to their community, the larger world, art, If you died tomorrow, how might you be remembered?
literature, or the health and well-being of others. Write an obituary for yourself that honestly encapsu-
One thing that is more universal, though: to feel lates your best qualities and accomplishments as well
that your life is well-lived, you need to look beyond as those things you might have done better. When you
describe how you spent your life, what aspects give you
your own immediate pleasures and comforts—and
most satisfaction? What effect have you had on the
even beyond engaging fully in your activities, savor- world around you and the people you came in contact
ing your life’s pleasures, and experiencing positive with? Has your life mattered? Use your obituary as a
emotions. As philosophers, religious leaders, and even vehicle for thinking about your goals for the rest of your
life, and taking active steps to reach them.
political leaders have argued through the ages, lasting
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happiness requires that you focus on concerns outside

of yourself and feel that your life has purpose. In other
words, you need both pleasure and meaning in your tion, according to a later analysis from that study,
life in order to feel satisfied. people who perceived a stronger sense of meaning in
Studies have examined the effects of having a their lives were more likely to protect their own lives.
strong sense of meaning. For example, in a study of For example, nonsmokers and former smokers scored
10,000 people in Hungary, participants said how higher on meaning than current smokers.
strongly they agreed with a series of statements such But what is a meaningful life? Positive psychol-
as “I feel my life is part of a larger plan.” The results ogy pioneer Martin Seligman describes it as one in
showed that life meaning was linked to an enhanced which you “use your signature strengths and virtues
sense of physical and emotional well-being. In addi- in the service of something much larger than you
are” (see “Finding your inner strengths,” page 14). In
his research, the search for a meaningful life is a way
of seeking happiness that is distinct from a general
pursuit of pleasurable experiences or highly engag-
ing activities. This does not mean, however, that you
should pursue meaningful activity to the exclusion of
pleasurable activities and flow experiences—all three
are important components of happiness and well-
being, and they tend to foster one another.
For example, in studies at the University of Mis-
souri, activities that created more positive emotions
also enhanced people’s experience of meaning in their
Thinkstock

daily lives. Some positive psychology researchers have

To feel that your life is well-lived, you need to look beyond proposed that activities that increase engagement and
your own immediate pleasures. Activities that increase your meaning in life will prove most fruitful in increasing
engagement in life and help others can prove most fruitful. lasting happiness. An exercise in evaluating your leg-

32 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 acy may help you recognize where you find the most give the puppet a treat from the child’s own bowl. Get-
value in your own life (see “Exercise #5: A look back at ting treats made the children happy, but sharing their
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your life,” page 32). own treats made them even happier.
Several studies have demonstrated the link
between helping others and experiencing happiness.
Practice random acts of kindness In a study published in Social Science and Medicine,
While the specific values and purposes you identify in researchers from the London School of Econom-
your life may differ from time to time and from other ics examined the relationship between volunteering
people’s, meaning is almost universally found in con- and measures of happiness in a large group of adults
cern for others—the desire to reduce their suffering in the United States. Their straightforward finding:
and improve their lives. the more people volunteered, the happier they were.
In an experiment at two Japanese colleges reported Compared with people who never volunteered, the
in the Journal of Happiness Studies, students were chance of being “very happy” rose 7% for those volun-
rated on happiness and gratitude at various intervals. teering monthly, 12% for those volunteering every two
Half the students were assigned to make a notation to four weeks, and 16% for those volunteering weekly.
every time they were kind to someone, and to report
the number of kind acts each day. The other half did
not track their acts of kindness. The students who “ Only the development of
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

tracked their acts of kindness rated higher on happi- compassion and understanding for
ness and gratefulness after the experiment, while the others can bring us the tranquility
students who didn’t keep count stayed about the same and happiness we all seek.”
(see “Exercise #6: Kindness counts,” below). —Dalai Lama
The “warm glow” that comes from helping or
sharing with others seems to be an innate part of
human nature, and has even been demonstrated in Giving time to religious organizations had the great-
very young children. In a 2012 study published in est impact. You might think that a 16% increase in the
PLOS One, children (all under age 2) were introduced number of people feeling happy seems small, but in
to puppets who “liked treats.” A researcher then gave this study, volunteering increased the probability of
treats to puppets, who “ate” the treats with much plea- being very happy as much as did having an income
sure. Next, the children met a new, treat-loving pup- of $75,000 to $100,000 compared with an income of
pet. The researchers then (1) “found” eight treats and $20,000.
gave them to the child in a bowl; (2) found a treat and Time is a precious resource, and the ways you
gave it to the puppet; (3) found a treat and asked the spend it can have a big impact on your well-being. But
child to give it to the puppet, and (4) asked the child to research has also shown that how people spend their
money makes a difference. In a study from the Univer-
sity of British Columbia and Harvard Business School,
EXERCISE #6 published in Science, researchers measured how happy
Kindness counts 16 employees reported feeling one month before and
Every day for a week, make a note whenever you do six to eight weeks after receiving their profit-sharing
something kind, whether large or small. Tally your daily bonus, which ranged from about $3,000 to $8,000.
totals. Did your acts of kindness increase during the Employees who spent a greater proportion of their
week? Does counting your kindnesses make you feel any
different? Happier? More grateful? If so, it’s a win-win bonus on others or made charitable donations with it
strategy you can use every day to improve your own life reported greater happiness than employees who spent
and the lives of others. more of the bonus on themselves—regardless of the
actual size of the bonus.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 33

 In a second study, the researchers asked 46 par- The actual amount they spent on others didn’t matter.
ticipants to rate their happiness in the morning. Experiment in your own life with time spent in
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Each participant then received an envelope contain- altruistic activities versus those designed to please
ing either $5 or $20, and was instructed to spend yourself only. When you have a free afternoon, flip
the money by 5 p.m. Half of the participants were a coin. Heads, do something self-indulgent (for in-
assigned to spend the money on themselves, the other stance, get a manicure). Tails, do something to help
half to buy something for another person or donate your community or another person (for example, visit
the money to charity. Again, participants who spent an elderly person). Notice how you feel at the time and
the money on others reported feeling happier at the in the hours and days that follow. Use that informa-
end of the day than those who spent it on themselves. tion as you make choices about spending your time.
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34 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 Positive psychology during difficult times
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C an positive psychology help you when you are

anxious, depressed, or under stress? As noted ear-
lier, strategies such as practicing gratitude or savor-
EXERCISE #7
One door closes, one door opens
ing pleasure can help prolong the good feelings that Recall three occasions when you lost out on something
accompany a positive event, such as a pay raise. important and write them down. What was the door that
closed? What other door opened? How did you change
Interestingly, they may also help you develop the
from that experience? Do you recognize any benefits
resilience to handle difficulties more easily and bounce you are grateful for? This exercise can help you recog-
back more rapidly after negative events. If you develop nize that hardships may bring benefits and can help
the habit of counting your blessings, for example, you you assimilate different experiences and find value and
may be better able to appreciate the good in your life satisfaction in your present life.
that remains even after a painful event like a job loss
or a death. Greater engagement in hobbies or nature
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and good relationships with family and friends can chology, people with chronic neuromuscular diseases
not only provide meaning in your life, but also be kept a daily gratitude journal and completed daily
sources of support that help sustain you in difficult rating forms about their experiences. Those count-
times. Knowing your strengths can help you develop ing their blessings experienced more positive feel-
realistic goals when your life changes (see “Finding ings, optimism, life satisfaction, and connectedness
your inner strengths,” page 14). And helping others, with others—and the positive changes were echoed in
even when you are struggling, can increase your posi- reports that their significant others kept about them.
tive feelings and help you gain perspective. The participants benefited physically as well, sleeping
Studies are beginning to provide intriguing evi- longer and waking more refreshed.
dence that positive psychology techniques can indeed Strengths. In a Veterans Affairs psychiatric reha-
be valuable in times of stress, grief, or other difficul- bilitation program, patients were given the opportu-
ties. Here are some examples: nity to take the 240-question VIA survey (see “What
Gratitude. In one study, people dealing with an are virtues and strengths?” on page 14) and receive a
unpleasant emotional memory were given one of printout of their five signature strengths. The clini-
three writing assignments: write something neutral, cians reported in the journal Psychiatric Services that
write about the unpleasant event, or write about posi- participants felt pride in their discoveries, had a sense
tive consequences from the event that they could be of accomplishment, and improved their mood just
grateful for (see “Exercise #7: One door closes, one by taking the inventory. Later, many of the veterans
door opens,” above right). In results published in The referred to their lists of strengths for direction and
Journal of Positive Psychology, those who focused on encouragement as they engaged in therapy and made
gratitude in their writing gained more closure on the education and career plans for their futures.
incident, had fewer intrusive memories of the event, Savoring pleasure. Positive reminiscence is not
and had less emotionally fraught memories, com- only pleasurable, but it also helps people gain a new
pared with participants whose writing did not focus perspective that can help them through current dif-
on gratitude. ficulties. In a study from the Netherlands, when
In a landmark study on gratitude interventions depressed older adults used the tool of positive remi-
published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psy- niscence, they not only thought more positively about

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 35

 their past but also began to evaluate themselves, their
Healthy body, healthy mind social relationships, and their future more positively.
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H ow you treat your physical body affects your mind and

your level of happiness. This concept may not be new,
but it is buoyed by new evidence. Take sleep and exercise.
Flow. When you’re fully engaged in activities, you
are less preoccupied by mundane thoughts. In addi-
tion, flow experiences can lessen more disturbing
Healthy sleep can help both mind and body. For
thoughts. In a study published in the British Journal
example, in a study of working women, getting a good
night’s sleep made a huge difference in how much women of Occupational Therapy, women living with cancer
enjoyed all types of activities during the day—far bigger had fewer intrusive thoughts about their illness and
than the influence of income, marital status, religion, or reduced stress when they had flow experiences while
time pressures. creating artwork.
Exercise helps counteract the depressant effects of a sed- Meaning. In a study of patients who’d had heart
entary lifestyle. Humans are designed for physical activity, attacks, those who blamed their heart attack on others
and regular exercise has been shown to enhance well-
being and help prevent or significantly reduce anxiety and were more likely to have a second attack in the next
depression. Older people who walk for pleasure and who eight years. People who perceived some benefit in
are physically active during their leisure time have higher their experience, such as appreciating life more, were
well-being scores than those who don’t engage in those less likely to have a recurrence.
activities, according to a study in the American Journal of
Mindfulness. For three decades, mindfulness-
Preventive Medicine.
based stress reduction programs (first developed at
In a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, when
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

202 people with major depression were randomly as-

the University of Massachusetts Medical School) have
signed to supervised or home exercise programs, the helped reduce physical and psychological symptoms
antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft), or a placebo, four in people facing a variety of challenges, including can-
months later the exercisers were just as likely to have cer and chronic pain. As an example, the skin lesions
entered remission as those taking medication. In Britain,
of people undergoing ultraviolet light therapy for
exercise is even recommended over medication as one of
the main treatments for mild depression, according to the severe psoriasis cleared more rapidly when people lis-
government-sponsored National Health Service website. tened to an recorded mindfulness intervention during
treatment sessions.

36 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 Taking positive psychology beyond yourself
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H appiness, of course, isn’t a totally solo enterprise.

Your relationships can have a large impact on your
sense of well-being. The more you connect with peo-
ple—even brief exchanges with people you don’t know
well—the more content you may feel. In one experi-
ment, researchers had people carry around two tiny
clickers. When they interacted with someone with
whom they had a close social tie, they clicked one
clicker. If they interacted with someone they didn’t
know well, they clicked the other one. People felt bet-

Thinkstock
ter on days with more interactions with close social
ties. But they also felt better when they had more
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

interactions with weak social ties. The more you connect with people, the more content you tend
Your actions and moods can even influence the to feel. And when you become happier, it helps those around
people with whom you come in contact—and there’s you increase their own happiness.
evidence that when you become happier, it helps those
around you increase their own happiness. Results same behaviors and anticipate the same reactions
from the large Framingham Heart Study showed from their mates.
that when people became happy, their nearby friends There is some evidence that applying principles
experienced a 25% greater chance of becoming happy, from positive psychology can enhance relationships.
and their next-door neighbors had a 34% increase. Engaging in flow experiences together, for example,
In reporting on this study in BMJ, researchers from may lead to more positive feelings for each other,
the University of California, San Diego, and Harvard according to a study published in the Journal of Per-
Medical School concluded that “people’s happiness sonality and Social Psychology. In this study, which
depends on the happiness of others with whom they used the technique of experience sampling (see “What
are connected.” So working toward your own happi- is flow?” on page 22), couples were contacted at ran-
ness can benefit the people around you as well. dom intervals and reported on their activity, mood,
and satisfaction and closeness in their relationship.
The researchers found that the way a couple spent
Positive relationships their time together influenced the quality of their rela-
Day-to-day happiness in a relationship takes effort, tionship. Watching television was pretty neutral, not
and the techniques of positive psychology can be use- making couples feel any better or worse about their
ful tools in that quest. relationship. In contrast, pursuing more flow-inviting
At the beginning of a relationship, nothing is activities as a couple—such as sailing, hiking, learning
more fascinating for two people than learning about a new skill together, or other active leisure (including
each other and negotiating the give-and-take of get- sex)—led to more positive feelings about the relation-
ting along. Long-term relationships can grow deeper ship, which lasted for more than five hours after the
and more intimate, but without some active atten- activity ended (see “Flow experiences to do together,”
tion, they can also deteriorate, as people repeat the page 38).

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 37

 In a follow-up laboratory study at Western Wash-
ington University in which couples solved word puz- Flow experiences to do together
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zles together, the tasks with a flow-inviting balance Following are some types of activities during which
of skill and challenge (the couple could successfully people often experience flow. See what works for you.
complete them, but it took work) made the couples • Dance • Collaborate on

feel better about their relationships than working on a • Meditate cooking dinner
• Ride bikes
puzzle that was too easy or too hard. • Play music or sing
• Walk in the woods
Mindfulness has also been linked to happier, more • Play tennis
looking for birds
resilient relationships. In the Journal of Marital and • Make love
and wildflowers
Family Therapy, researchers at the University of Roch- • Play board or video • Pray or attend services
ester assessed people’s mindfulness by looking at their games
• Practice yoga
self-ratings on 15 statements related to being focused
in the present. Those with higher levels of mindful-
ness had more satisfactory relationships and a greater services can encourage people to live happier, more
capacity to respond to conflicts constructively, with meaningful lives—both for the benefit of individuals
less stress and better communication. and for the improved functioning of the larger organi-
Gratitude can also improve people’s satisfac- zations. A few examples follow:
tion with their relationships. Researchers at Harvard The workplace. Mindfulness training programs
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

and other universities found a unique way to boost are gaining traction in the workplace, according to
gratitude among those in long-term relationships. a 2014 article in the Harvard Business Review. One
One group of participants spent 20 minutes writing example is a two-day program called Search Inside
about how they met their partner, dated, and ended Yourself, developed at Google, that incorporates train-
up together. The others wrote about how they might ing in mindfulness, self-awareness, optimism, resil-
never have met their partner, never have started dat- ience, empathy, and compassion. At its main campus
ing, and not have ended up together. Those who con- in Silicon Valley, Calif., Google has a team devoted to
templated not being with their partners showed the teaching mindfulness meditation and offers regular
biggest gains in relationship satisfaction, the research- practice sessions for workers to attend either in per-
ers reported in the Journal of Personality and Social son or online throughout the day. Google also offers
Psychology. A later article in the same journal reported retreats, keynote talks, coaching, and a four-week
that conveying your appreciation for your partner can training program, done offsite. A diverse array of cli-
make your partner appreciate you more. Such shared ents including Ford, Farmers Insurance, Comcast,
gratitude leads both people to be more responsive to and Genentech have brought the training to their
the other’s needs—and to be more likely to stay in the companies.
relationship. Aetna, one of the country’s biggest health insur-
Relationships are a perfect place to introduce ance companies, has developed a program called
more expressions of gratitude, appreciation, and kind- Mindfulness at Work in collaboration with Duke Inte-
ness. You and your partner can support each other in grative Medicine and eMindful, a provider of online
your quest for a happy, meaningful life. and mobile interactive mindfulness programs. Aetna
employees volunteered to participate in a study of the
program, which teaches brief mindfulness practices
Positive communities (five to 15 minutes) targeting workplace stress and
When the American Psychological Association first work-life balance. Those who underwent the train-
adopted a focus on positive psychology, it explicitly ing—either online or in person—had a 36% reduction
included the study of how institutions such as schools, in perceived stress, compared with an 18% decrease
employers, and providers of medical care and social among those in a control group. The study authors,

38 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 whose findings were published in 2012 in the Journal ments so that each child is engaged and challenged. A
of Occupational Health Psychology, note that stress 2012 article in the journal Mindfulness reviewed the
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saps productivity and morale in the workplace, and research on the integration of mindfulness training in
that stressed employees also have higher health care students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Since
expenses. The program is now available to Aetna 2005, at least 14 studies of programs that train stu-
employees nationwide, and more than 13,000 have dents in mindfulness suggest that the training offers
participated in it to date. In addition, 20 companies a range of benefits for students, including improve-
for which Aetna provides insurance coverage have ments in working memory, academic and social skills,
implemented the Mindfulness at Work program. and emotional control.
In 2015, one of the best-designed studies to date In related research, Mindful Schools, a not-for-
about the potential benefits of mindfulness in the profit training organization, offers online courses
workplace was published the journal PLOS One. for teachers to learn mindfulness and then teach the
Researchers surveyed 3,270 factory workers in Taiwan practice to children in their classrooms. Mindful
to identify those with high levels of psychological dis- Schools partnered with researchers from the Uni-
tress and invited particularly unhappy workers to par- versity of California, Davis, to conduct a pilot study
ticipate in the study. The 144 workers who ultimately on the program’s effects in three public elementary
agreed were assigned to one of two groups. The first schools in Oakland, Calif., and found that just four
group completed an eight-week mindfulness train- hours of mindfulness training led to improvements in
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

ing program consisting of weekly two-hour classes students’ attention, self-calming, social compliance,
at work and 45 minutes of daily meditation home- and showing care for others over a six-week period.
work. The other was a control group, who reported The military. Mindfulness training has proven
regularly on their psychological well-being but didn’t promising for helping soldiers cope with psychologi-
receive any mindfulness training. Compared with the cal stress after they return from a military deployment.
control group, the workers who took the mindfulness But the training may also be valuable for preparing
class reported feeling much better. They had less pro- soldiers for the demands and stress they face before
longed fatigue—that feeling of exhaustion that doesn’t deployment. Before leaving for active duty, soldiers
go away even after having a chance to rest. They also need to psychologically prepare for dangerous, high-
felt less stressed, reported reduced anxiety and depres- stress situations, while also having to leave loved ones.
sion, and had fewer sleep difficulties, aches and pains, Army researchers found that a special type of train-
and problems getting along with others. ing, called Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training,
Health care. Some clinicians have already helped the participants prevent lapses in attention and
embraced the concepts of positive psychology as “mind wandering.”
a preventive health strategy. Case managers work-
ing to ensure that people get the medical and mental
health services they need have adopted a strengths- Using positive psychology in
based approach that helps patients appreciate their psychotherapy
own strengths and assume more control over deci- Many of the ideas of positive psychology have long
sions about their care. As an example, people who had been part of psychotherapy. Skilled therapists of all
recently been diagnosed with HIV were significantly types help people recognize their strengths and iden-
more likely to get appropriate medical care if they met tify paths toward greater fulfillment and happiness.
with a case manager who helped them identify their For example, feminist therapy usually tries to identify
personal strengths and abilities and formulate a plan women’s strengths (rather than focus on their weak-
to get the help they needed. nesses) and accept and validate women’s feelings.
Schools. Positive psychology offers many possi- Humanistic psychology emphasizes the importance of
bilities for using the concept of flow to adapt assign- finding meaning in life and continuing to grow psy-

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 39

 chologically. These approaches supplement models of tion, and suicide attempts. Mindfulness skills learned
psychotherapy that focus more on addressing nega- as part of DBT help patients watch their thoughts and
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tive patterns of thoughts and behaviors. Here are some emotions nonjudgmentally, enabling them to bet-
therapies that use positive psychology explicitly: ter tolerate distress and gain more control over their
Acceptance-based therapies. Several “accep- reactions. In one two-year study, patients treated with
tance-based” therapies use mindfulness, often com- DBT had far fewer suicide attempts and psychiatric
bined with cognitive behavioral techniques, to help hospitalizations, and they were more likely to stick
people who are depressed or anxious recognize when with their treatment.
they are having negative thoughts (“no one likes me”) Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is
and to accept and watch them dispassionately rather increasingly used to treat a remarkable range of psy-
than getting caught up in the negativity. Some of these chological difficulties. While it doesn’t teach mindful-
therapies also stress the positive psychology approach ness meditation, ACT helps people to see that their
of identifying and acting in accordance with your thoughts are just thoughts, rather than reality, and to
values. Many hospitals and health centers now offer see themselves as the observer of the thoughts rather
mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies. than as the “thinker.” It also helps people to accept
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), their constantly changing kaleidoscope of pleasant
which combines mindfulness practice with cognitive and unpleasant experiences and to redirect their lives
behavioral techniques, has been successfully used to toward whatever provides meaning. ACT has been
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

treat depression and anxiety. The best-documented shown to lower the need for rehospitalization of psy-
use is to prevent relapses of depression. Mindfulness chotic patients, lessen social anxiety, reduce disability
meditation helps you recognize when your mood is due to pain, aid smoking cessation, and reduce high-
beginning to plummet and helps you to focus on the risk adolescent sexual behavior.
present rather than on fears of the future or on reliv-
ing negative episodes from the past. In randomized
clinical trials, MBCT cut the relapse rate in half for Finding help
people with recurrent episodes of depression. In a Many types of professionals—from traditionally
randomized clinical trial published in the Journal of trained mental health professionals to motivational
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, people with recur- speakers and religious teachers—can draw on the
rent depression who participated in an eight-week findings of positive psychology to help you become
group course of MBCT were significantly less likely to happier. Choose your clinician or practitioner based
become depressed again than people who continued on your particular needs and recommendations from
on antidepressants without therapy. During the study, trusted health professionals, friends, or family mem-
people in the mindfulness group reported greater bers. While a person with a mental health condition,
physical well-being and enjoyment in daily life, and such as depression, should seek help from a qualified,
75% were able to discontinue their antidepressant state-licensed mental health professional such as a
medication. psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, or psychiatric
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has become nurse, someone in good mental health can seek more
an established treatment for borderline personality broadly among the variety of choices available. Fol-
disorder, a difficult-to-treat condition in which people lowing are some of the options.
experience extreme fluctuations in mood and in their
opinions of themselves and others. Unable to tolerate Licensed mental health professionals
frustration, people with borderline personality disor- These practitioners come from a variety of academic
der often lash out, and their lives are characterized by disciplines but share knowledge of the causes of psy-
chaotic and difficult relationships and by self-destruc- chological distress and its treatment. Each field has its
tive behaviors such as eating disorders, self-mutila- own strengths.

40 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 Licensed independent clinical social workers include people who have earned master’s degrees in
(L.I.C.S.W.) have earned a master’s degree in social positive psychology; this training does not specifically
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work (M.S.W.). Many hold state licenses to counsel train people as therapists or coaches, but it prepares
patients and are covered by health insurance plans. graduates to incorporate positive psychology tech-
They provide psychotherapy and are trained particu- niques into their existing practices.
larly to focus on a person’s place in the family or wider It’s important to note that the quality of programs
community. They do not prescribe medication. for training coaches varies widely. Some are rigorous;
Psychiatric clinical nurse specialists (R.N.) have others are not. Each coaching institute sets its own
earned a degree in nursing with a specialty in provid- standards in deciding whom to accept and how much
ing psychiatric services. They often provide psycho- training to require for participants to earn a certificate.
therapy, are usually covered by health insurance, and In some cases, there are no prerequisites for entering a
may prescribe medications. coaching program, and the training may involve as lit-
Psychiatrists (M.D.) are medical doctors who tle as a weekend seminar or watching a DVD. States do
have attended medical school and specialized in psy- not license coaches or restrict who can call themselves
chiatric disorders. These doctors are state-licensed, life coaches or happiness coaches, as they do with
and their services are covered by health insurance. licensed mental health professionals. Medical insur-
They generally prescribe medications and may also ance doesn’t cover the cost of using a coach (which can
provide psychotherapy. be hundreds of dollars a month).
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

Psychologists (Ph.D., Psy.D., Ed.D.) have earned

a doctoral degree in psychology or a related field. They Which is right for you?
generally provide psychotherapy and may also do psy- A coach may be the right choice if you are generally
chological testing. Many hold state licenses to treat doing well but would like some help getting started
patients and are covered by health insurance. Most with positive psychology. Coaches are generally not
psychologists do not prescribe medication. The field the right place to start if you are struggling with anxi-
of positive psychology originated with and has been ety, depression, substance abuse problems, or other
developed mainly by psychologists. mental health issues. Recognize, too, that it’s a buyer-
States also license a variety of other master’s-level beware situation. Ask about training and experience,
counselors with various areas of specialization. examine references, and schedule a trial session to
evaluate the coach’s listening skills, knowledge, and
Life coaches compatibility before entering into any type of contract
There has been a surge in the number of people work- for ongoing coaching.
ing as “life coaches” or “happiness coaches” who con- Most positive psychology interventions carry
sult with people in person, via scheduled telephone little risk, but they may heighten your awareness of
sessions, or through email. Life coaches help people difficulties in your life. A coach who is not a mental
evaluate their values and goals, make plans for areas health professional may not be able to assist you in
they wish to change, and take concrete steps to put identifying problems that could benefit from medica-
these plans into action. Life coaches do not provide tion or psychotherapy or be able to help you process
treatment for depression, anxiety, or other mental dis- strong feelings that may emerge during the consulta-
orders and cannot prescribe medication. No degree is tions. If you feel that your thoughts, behaviors, and
required to be a life coach, and there is no licensing feelings are interfering with your ability to function
requirement. However, some people who practice as well in life, or you wish to evaluate the influence that
life coaches also hold degrees and licenses in mental past relationships and experiences are having on your
health fields. For example, some coaches are licensed current functioning, it is probably best to seek a tradi-
psychotherapists who have partially or totally shifted tionally trained mental health professional.
their practices into coaching. Entrants to the field If you are intrigued by the principles and strategies

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 41

 described in this report, ask whether the therapist’s or greater satisfaction and contentment in your life, start
coach’s approach incorporates aspects of positive psy- by choosing just one technique that you expect might
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chology—such as mindfulness-based cognitive ther- be a good fit and make time to practice it every day for
apy or acceptance and commitment therapy. Other a week—even if for just 10 minutes a day. In the follow-
questions to ask: ing weeks, try switching to or adding other practices,
• What is your training and experience? experimenting with each at least a few times, to find
• What areas do you specialize in? those that resonate most with you.
• What type of treatments do you usually use with Once you identify a technique or group of tech-
people in my situation? niques that feels helpful, allow them to be part of your
• Do you accept my insurance plan? daily routine—like brushing your teeth. You may
• What are your fees? begin feeling just a little bit better right away. Even
• How long would you anticipate seeing me before better, the positive effects will likely deepen with time,
we re-evaluate how things are going? as your practice becomes a habit.
• Can I schedule an interview or trial session prior Recognize that at certain times, well-being may
to making a decision? arise naturally and easily. At other times, when life’s
• What is your experience working with people with challenges intervene, a sense of contentment and ease
my concerns? may seem miles away. Stay the course and remember
that allowing yourself to experience a full range of
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

emotions can actually lessen your suffering.

Moving forward But remember to pursue happiness lightly, let it
Whether or not you need to consult a therapist, there arise naturally, and don’t expect to find it once and for
is a great deal you can do on your own. Now that all. It turns out that well-being is cultivated through
you’ve read about the range of strategies for cultivating small choices made over a lifetime.

42 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

 Resources
Organizations Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of
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Contentment, Calm, and Confidence

Positive Psychology Center at Rick Hanson, Ph.D.
the University of Pennsylvania (Harmony, 2013)
Solomon Labs
A psychologist uses neuroscience, humor, and his own
3720 Walnut St.
experiences to offer a clear and practical path to rewiring your
Philadelphia, PA 19104
brain for happiness, contentment, and resilience.
215-898-7173
www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting
the Life You Want
This website at the Positive Psychology Center headed by Dr.
Sonja Lyubomirsky
Martin Seligman provides information about positive psychol-
(Penguin Press, 2007)
ogy research and its applications, quizzes with immediate
feedback, and an opportunity to participate in online research. A psychology professor and happiness researcher translates the
The center also oversees the Authentic Happiness website positive psychology research into a detailed, individualized, step-
(www.authentichappiness.com), where you can find 18 different by-step program for increasing happiness.
self-assessments to help you develop insights into yourself and
the world around you. Your answers are anonymous but may be The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself
used for research by Dr. Seligman and other researchers. from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions
Christopher K. Germer, Ph.D.
VIA Institute on Character (Guilford Press, 2009)
312 Walnut St., Suite 3600 A Harvard psychologist guides the reader on the path to self-
Cincinnati, OH 45202 compassion by explaining how to accept difficult emotions, embrace
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

www.viacharacter.org one’s limitations, and be kind to yourself when you need it the most.
The VIA Institute on Character does research on character The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for
strengths and virtues. The website features a full-length inventory Everyday Problems
of strengths, a brief survey, and a version for children. All can be Ronald D. Siegel, Psy.D.
taken and scored online. (Guilford Press, 2009)
The Harvard faculty editor of this Special Health Report guides
Books the reader toward understanding and practicing mindfulness in
order to “see more clearly the habits of our minds that create
Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness unnecessary suffering.”
and Well-Being
Martin E. P. Seligman Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
(2011, Free Press) Kristen Neff, Ph.D.
Seligman, a founder of the field of positive psychology, describes (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2015)
the five factors that contribute to happiness and well-being. A psychologist who pioneered the investigation of self-compas-
sion offers practical advice on how to limit self-criticism and off-
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
set its negative effects.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
(Harper and Row, 2008) Spiritual Evolution: How We are Wired for Faith, Hope, and Love
A longtime researcher describes the “flow experience,” in which George Vaillant, M.D.
one is fully and joyfully absorbed in an activity, and explains (Broadway Books, 2008)
how you can apply the concept to become more engaged and The head of Harvard’s Study of Adult Development uses genetic,
satisfied in life. developmental, and anthropological research to show that
positive emotions and spirituality are essential to human survival.
Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting
Fulfillment Stumbling on Happiness
Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D. Daniel Gilbert
(McGraw-Hill, 2007) (Vintage, 2007)
The former teacher of Harvard’s popular undergraduate course in A Harvard professor of psychology humorously details his
positive psychology, Ben-Shahar uses examples from research, his research probing how the mind makes predictions, often
course, and his life to encourage people to develop greater levels erroneous, about the future—and how this can send you in the
of happiness in their lives. wrong direction in the search for happiness.

ww w. h ealt h . h ar v ar d . e du Positive Psychology 43

 Glossary
acceptance-based therapies: Psychotherapy techniques that mindfulness: Awareness and acceptance of your present
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use mindfulness to help a person recognize and accept thoughts experience.

and feelings but not be controlled by them.
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: A well-established
eudaemonism: Fulfilling one’s potential and identifying acceptance-based therapy, used principally in treatment of
meaningful life pursuits. depression and anxiety.

experience sampling: A research technique for learning about optimism: A characteristic frame of mind that leads someone
people’s activity patterns and psychological processes that to expect positive outcomes and to view the world as a posi-
involves contacting them at random times to obtain brief reports. tive place.

flow: The experience of being fully involved in an activity, positive psychology: The branch of psychology that studies
marked by a sense of concentration and control and a lack of mental health rather than illness, seeking to learn how normal
self-consciousness or awareness of time or discomfort. life can be more fulfilling and to identify the practices that indi-
viduals and communities can use to foster greater happiness.
happiness: Feelings of contentment or joy; the overall experi-
resilience: The ability to adapt to change and recover quickly
ence of pleasure, well-being, and meaning in life.
from setbacks such as illness, injury, or misfortune.
happiness set point: Your baseline level of happiness, deter-
satisficer: A person who can make a choice and be satisfied
mined largely by genetics, around which your moods fluctuate.
with it when presented with an option that meets his or her
After reacting to positive or negative life changes, people tend
standards, without needing to examine all options or find the
to return to their happiness set points.
absolute best.
hedonic treadmill: The human tendency to adapt to new
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.

self-compassion: Responding to one’s own disappointments,

circumstances and come to consider them normal, so that the failures, and painful emotions with love and kindness, as a
emotional effects (negative or positive) generated by a change caring friend might.
fade over time.
signature strengths: Character strengths that people identify
hedonism: The devotion to pleasure. with, appreciate having, and enjoy using.
maximizer: A person who typically evaluates all options virtues: Core characteristics that have been universally valued
before making a decision, in an effort to identify the perfect by philosophers and religions throughout history and in differ-
choice, and who never settles for second best. ent cultures.

44 Positive Psychology  w w w.h ealt h .ha r va r d.e du

TO BE POSTED ONLINE ONLY FOR PERSONAL USE BY INDIVIDUALS WHO ACCESS THE LIBRARY ONLINE; NOT TO BE FORWARDED – NOT APPROVED FOR PRINT USE.
WARNING: Content older than three years according to copyright date should be used for research purposes only.
TO BE POSTED ONLINE ONLY FOR PERSONAL USE BY INDIVIDUALS WHO ACCESS THE LIBRARY ONLINE; NOT TO BE FORWARDED – NOT APPROVED FOR PRINT USE.

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